


More Than Meets The Eye

by things_nct



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Asexuality, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Were-Creatures, Werewolves, Witches, dojae is still main though, doyoung is a badass, exo makes a cameo, if you sexualize the dreamies i will dropkick you into the next dimension, lots of attention given to each ship, people get injured but I don't go into huge detail, tiny reference to red velvet, were-bunnies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-06-28 19:20:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15713472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/things_nct/pseuds/things_nct
Summary: Escaping from his past were-bunny Doyoung stumbles across the NCT pack. He fits right in to the patchwork family, but will he be able to find the strength to stand on his own two feet? Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in the supernatural underworld. Doyoung needs to watch out before his history catches up to him.I made this cause everyone characterizes bunny-hybrid/were-bunny Doyoung as a pathetic baby but we all know Mrs. Kim didn't raise no bitch, she raised THE bitch.





	1. Chapter 1

****_Huff. Huff. Huff._ Doyoung’s breath burst out of his body as he raced through the underbrush, wind whipping past his ears. Leaves and branched whipped at his ears and pain burst through his shoulder every time his paw hit the ground, but he knew he couldn’t stop. Doyoung couldn’t smell, see, or hear them, but he knew they were there, waiting for him to stumble, fall, collapse back into their clutches. Whispering on the edge of his senses, the darkness of the woods crawled closer to him, trees looming into the sky. Through the trees Doyoung suddenly saw a flicker of light. _Fire. Humans._ A scent wafts past Doyoung’s nose and he almost stumbles in surprise. His desperation propelling him forward, Doyoung realizes _no, not humans. But still help?_ Bursting into the clearing and stretching into his human form, Doyoung lands hard, staring warily and the group sitting around the fire.

 

“No Mark, I do not think you can fit that whole s’more into your mouth.” Donghyuck laughed, Jeno adding “I’ll pay you five dollars to try though.” Smiling, Jaehyun and Johnny turned back to their discussion as Hansol and Yuta watched with interest from their place cuddling by the fire. As Mark tries to cram the s’more into his mouth, Jaehyun asks Johnny “Ok but if it truly was a mistake, why would Gennady Osipovich, the soviet who shot the plane down, still believe that he shot down a spy plane? I’m just saying, there could have been spies on that Korean Air Lines Flight 007. Maybe the Soviets got intel from the US government.” Taking a breath to launch into his next conspiracy theory, Jaehyun sees Hansol shift from the corner of his eye. Pausing, Jaehyun looks over at Hansol, who is now frowning at the nearby woods.

“What is it?” Jaehyun asks.

Hansol blinks and turns back to the group, everyone’s eyes on him.

“It’s probably nothing, I just thought I heard-”  The bushes rustle again, and everyone looks into the woods, Hansol starting to stand. Suddenly, a small black bunny bounced out from the underbrush, transforming into a full sized were-bunny in front of their eyes mid leap. Falling to the ground, he kneels across the clearing from the pack, frozen in place, shivering in his thin t-shirt and shorts in the cool night air.  

“Help” the bunny chokes out after a moment of silence, collapsing. The pack freezes, Jaehyun meeting Jeno’s eyes across the fire. Swallowing tensely, Jaehyun can read in Jeno’s eyes the same thoughts that he himself has. _What is going on?_ There’s a rustle next to Jaehyun as Hansol suddenly stands, taking charge of his pack.

“Johnny, Jae, come help me check this guy for injuries. Mark, Donghyuck, grab the first aid kit from my car and prepare some healing potions in case we need them. Yuta, grab some warm clothes for the bunny. Jeno, grab a bag of ice and a couple sleeping bags to put the bunny on.” The pack blinks up at Hansol, still processing what was happening. With a loud clap and a “let’s go!” from Hansol, everyone jumps up and races off to complete their jobs. Hansol, Johnny, and Jaehyun hurried to the bunny to examine him. Carefully rolling the were-bunny onto his back, Jaehyun gasps at the sight of the bunny’s awkwardly angled arm.

“The shoulder looks dislocated” Hansol observes. Trailing his gaze down the were-bunny’s body, what Jaehyun could see through the thin t-shirt leaves him shocked and appalled. Scars litter Doyoung’s torso, short and long, shallow and deep.

“What the hell happened to him?” muttered Jaehyun.

“I don’t know, but let’s not pressure him, alright?” Hansol asks, looking up at Jaehyun and Johnny.

Johnny looks up from his position near the man’s feet. “I don’t see any signs of head injury. There’s nothing on his torso and legs besides small cuts and scrapes from his run in the woods. It must just be his shoulder that’s hurt.”

“Thank goodness I took that class at the hospital” Hansol commented, and then taking a deep breath, Hansol shoved the boy’s arm back into place. A scream ripped across the grassy area, the were-bunny convulsing and waking himself up. As everyone runs to him, Jaehyun carefully kneels down next to the were-bunny. Holding his hands out and looking into the man’s eyes in an effort not to scare him, Jaehyun asks “May I touch you?” The man nods and, remembering the time when Jeno feel off his skateboard and broke his arm, Jaehyun comforts him in the same way. Drawing the were-bunny’s head into his lap, Jaehyun gently runs his fingers through his hair. The man’s eyes flutter shut, focusing on Jaehyun’s whispered reassurances. Jaehyun’s eyes can’t help but trail over the man’s oval face and high cheekbones. Entranced, Jaehyun’s hand moves to trace his dark brow, startling when Mark appears next to him. Jaehyun’s hand drops back onto the were-bunny’s hair, a reminder that now is not the time, nor the place.

“Here’s the first aid kit, Hyuck’s got a few potions that will lessen the pain” Mark gives Hansol the kit and motions to where Donghyuck is standing to his side, looking worriedly at the body on the ground.

The bunny’s eyes fly open, glaring up at Mark. “Can that potion shit knock me out?” he growls out from Jaehyun’s lap. The obscene words coming from such a sweet face would have been funny to Jaehyun, if they weren’t in such a dire situation.  

“Uhm, sure, if you take enough” Donghyuck replied, warily.

“Hand it over” Sticking out his hand, the were-bunny grabs the potion from Donghyuck.

“Hey can we have your name first?” Hansol asked as the boy downs it in one gulp.

“Doyoung,” he replies, promptly falling back to Jaehyun’s lap, asleep. Hansol nods, he and Jaehyun proceeding to lift the man and place him on the sleeping bags that Jeno put down near the fire for warmth. Johnny takes the first aid kit and starts to clean the small scrapes, Jaehyun continuing to run his hands through the man’s hair. Yuta kneels next to Doyoung with a pair sweatpants and a sweatshirt in his hands.

“So should I just…?” Yuta asked, looking at Hansol. Hansol shrugged and nodded, so Yuta proceeded to carefully put the clothes on Doyoung.

Grabbing the sling, Yuta supported Doyoung’s arm with it, and placed it over his uninjured shoulder. Laying the bag of ice on Doyoung’s shoulder, he said “Hopefully this is enough until we can get him to a real doctor.”

The boys agreed to put Doyoung in the bed of Johnny’s truck to sleep, thinking he would feel more comfortable waking up out in the open rather than confined in a small tent. Lifting the were-bunny up, Jaehyun and Johnny gently lay him in the truck on top of more sleeping bags, careful not to jostle his shoulder.

“We can take turns watching him throughout the night, so if he wakes up he’ll have someone to help him.” Jeno said, offering to take the first shift. Each member nodded, retiring to their tents, Jaehyun patting his little brother on the shoulder.

“Wake me up in a couple hours and I’ll take over for you.” Jeno hummed in agreement, settling in next to Doyoung and pulling out his book and flashlight. Even after retiring to his tent Jaehyun couldn’t manage to fall asleep, picturing the scars across Doyoung’s body. They were obviously not self-inflicted, so either Doyoung voluntarily went through a paper shredder every day or…. Jaehyun didn’t even want to think of the other possibility. What kind of horrors has this man gone through? Tossing and turning, it felt like Jaehyun had barely fallen asleep before Jeno was shaking his shoulder to wake him up. Before tucking himself into the nearest sleeping bag and falling asleep, Jeno mumbled “He’s sleeping peacefully.” Jaehyun dragged himself up from his sleeping bag and trudged to the truck, climbing in and sitting next to Doyoung. Leaning back, Jaehyun stared up at the stars, appreciating their glimmer away from the pollution of the city. The night noises of the campground settles over Jaehyun’s shoulders, crickets gently chirping and a soft sigh coming out of a tent every so often as a pack member shifts in their sleep. Jaehyun startles as a voice softly pipes up below him.   

“Did you know that Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system?”

Jaehyun looks down in surprise. “Really?” Doyoung is gazing up at Jaehyun, dark almond eyes reflecting the stars above them.

“Yep. It has an average surface temperature of around 450° C.” Doyoung adds, meeting Jaehyun’s eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to the sky. “It’s one of the planets you can actually see from Earth, along with Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Look, you can see Jupiter there. Venus is usually seen better in the morning. That’s why it’s called the morning star.” Doyoung points up at a particularly bright point in the sky. Jaehyun slides down until he’s laying next to Doyoung, following his arm with his eyes.

“That’s fascinating.” Jaehyun whispers, and they relapse back into the stillness of the night. After a few minutes of laying side by side, Doyoung pipes up again.

“What are you thinking about?”

Jaehyun chuckles. _So he never stops talking. Cute._ “How you’re supposed to be asleep right now, allowing your shoulder to heal.”

“I woke up a little while ago, but I was still tired, so the kid read to me until I fell back asleep. He was surprisingly sweet for a teenager.”

“Yeah, Jeno’s my younger brother. He’s a little shit once you get to know him, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”

Doyoung nods, smiling slightly, pausing before replying “You never answered my question.”

“Oh, yeah. I was thinking about home.”

“Do you live with your parents and brother?”

“Brother, yes, parents, no. I live in a house near the city with the other people here. My pack members.”

Doyoung frowned. “Aren’t you all a little bit young to be in your own pack?”

Jaehyun nods, sliding to sit back up against the truck. “We grew up together, we’ve basically been each other’s only family for years. We moved away from our hometown about four years ago so we’re living in a house together and working while Hyuck and Jeno finish out high school.”

Doyoung’s brows furrow in confusion and Jaehyun almost coos over how adorable he looks. “Hyuck?”

“The red headed kid.”

“Oh, the witch. What’s his aptitude?”

“Sun witch. He’s insanely good with plants and spends most of his time outside.”

“A witch in a wolfpack. That’s unusual. Why isn’t he with a coven?” Jaehyun shrugs and looked up at the sky.

“It’s a long story.” Doyoung nodded, examining the man next to him for the first time. The starlight brushed across Jaehyun’s face, giving it a gentle glow. _Dammit brain, now is not the time._ Quickly returning his gaze to the sky, Doyoung racks his brain for another question.

“Who else is in your pack?”

A smile starts to form on Jaehyun’s face, eyes already growing fond just thinking about his packmates. “There’s Hansol, the tall guy with the large eyes, the oldest and our Alpha. Then there’s Yuta, a kitsune and Hansol’s mate. Johnny is the other tall guy, and he acts as our Beta, taking over when Hansol isn’t around. I’m Jaehyun, the fourth oldest, and after me is Mark, Johnny’s stepbrother. Mark is the one with the light brown hair who alway looks kind of surprised. Jeno comes after Mark, and our youngest is Donghyuck, the witch.”

“So you all live in one house?”

“Yeah. It gets a little crowded and noisy at times, and it’s annoying how we all share rooms except for Johnny, but we get used to it.” Jaehyun looks down at Doyoung, a smile gracing his features and jokes “How long is this interrogation going to be?” Doyoung frowns back, huffing a bit.

“What’s wrong with finding out information about the complete strangers who I happened upon in the woods?”

“You’re the one who showed up at our camp, maybe I should be interrogating you!” Doyoung froze, averting his eyes. _Oh shoot no, don’t close off_ Jaehyun thought, quickly adding “it’s ok, I really don’t mind all the questions. I know our pack looks a little mishmash, people ask about it all the time.”

Doyoung’s eyes don’t return to Jaehyuns and he pulls his lower lip in between his teeth, chewing it thoughtfully. “Why am I here? Why do you all care for me?” Doyoung suddenly asks. Jaehyun eyes flash with surprise, and he opens his mouth, pausing before collecting his thoughts.

“I-I haven’t really thought about that. Because we should? Because we’re decent people? Because-” Jaehyun pauses again, sighing. “Because we know what it’s like to be hurt and broken and lost, so we are the ones who most feel the need to help others out of that place.” Doyoung’s eyes meet Jaehyun’s again, and Jaehyun sees a sense of acknowledgement. The recognition of two people who have struggled in life, but are trying to move on and become better. Doyoung then hums and yawns, eyelids suddenly feeling heavier.

“Well, thank you. Being super nice to random strangers that fall into your campsite may be normal to you, but it isn’t to me, so, like, thanks.” Jaehyun smiles down at Doyoung again.

“Go to sleep Doyoung. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We’re going back home and taking you to the hospital.”

“No, you guys have done enough.” Doyoung weakly protested.

“Ok yeah, we’ll leave you here in the woods to fend for yourself. C’mon Doyoung. We’ve only known you for a few hours, but I’m pretty sure Jeno would already die for you. Face it, you’re stuck with us.” Doyoung smiled softly, eyes fighting to close, breaths getting deeper. 

“I’m stronger than I look, you don’t have to worry about me.” 

“Shh. Just sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning.” Jaehyun chuckled, laying a gentle hand on Doyoung’s uninjured shoulder. As Doyoung falls asleep, he hears Jaehyun faintly murmur “I’ll protect you.”


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Doyoung awakens to the sounds of tents being folded up and the chatter of the pack around him as they got ready to leave. 

“Morning sleeping beauty!” Yuta calls, smile brighter than the sun. 

“Morning” Doyoung frowns back, squinting in the morning light, pushing his overgrown black bangs out of his eyes. 

Coming up alongside the truck Hansol rests an arm on the ledge. “How are you? Can you walk?” Doyoung huffs and rolls his eyes. “Yes. It’s my shoulder that hurts, not my leg.”

“Great!” Hansol grins. “Let’s get going!” Doyoung gingerly gets down from the truck, looking around at the men working together as a unit to leave as quickly as possible. Donghyuck and Mark are obviously not concentrated on cleaning up at all, instead focused on pushing each other around near their tent. When Donghyuck leaning to kiss Mark on the cheek, Mark dodges and shoves Donghyuck back, Donghyuck yelping as he trips over a pole and falls backwards onto their pile of disassembled tent. Glaring up at Mark’s proffered hand, Donghyuck grabs the hand and yanks it, Mark collapsing next to him. The boys continue to push each other, their effort to get out of the tent pile only entangling them even more. Seeing their struggle, Johnny abandons his tent and lopes over to help. Hansol and Yuta work together in sync, folding the tent up, giggling together over their conversation. Jaehyun and Jeno are a mix of both working hard and giving each other the occasional shove, jokingly annoying the other. Eyes sparkling with mischief, Jeno grabs a tent pole, holding it out like a rapier, calling to Jaehyun “En garde!” Jaehyun grabs the other pole and lunges toward Jeno, Jeno meeting him in an awkward parry. The boys jump around, laughing until Jaehyun pokes Jeno in the shoulder. “I win!” yells Jaehyun, bowing towards the politely clapping pack, who had stopped what they were doing to watch. Standing to the side, awkwardly smiling, something aches deep in Doyoung’s chest as he watched the other members. 

“Hey Doyoung!” calls Jeno, eyes turning into crescents as he smiled. “Can you carry this bag to Hansol’s Mom van?” 

“It’s not a Mom van!” Hansol yells from across the clearing. Yuta smiles up at Hansol, replying “It’s kind of a Mom van.” Walking over to Jeno, Doyoung grabs the bag and takes it over, breathing out a small laugh. Within half an hour, the whole campsite is packed up and clean, except a few scattered camp chairs. Mark and Donghyuck lay in the grass side by side, breathing hard after their constant fighting. Johnny glares at them from his chair, asking “Why are you both so tired? I did all of the work for you.” Jeno laughs and flops across Mark and Donghyuck’s stomachs, pushing the breath out of their lungs. As the boys resume their tussle, Hansol claps, bringing everyone’s attention to him. 

“Circle up!” the young boys instantly stop brawling and join the other pack members in setting up chairs in a circle, all facing each other. With how few chairs were left out, the youngest three decided to spread a blanket out on the ground, Donghyuck throwing his legs over Mark’s while Jeno leaned back onto Jaehyun’s legs. The playful aura of before was replaced with a certain somber tone, and each pack member seemed to know what was coming. 

“So, Doyoung,” Hansol says, turning to the were-bunny. “Jaehyun told me you were wondering why a group of young men all under the age of twenty four decided to leave their hometown and form their own pack.” Doyoung nodded, looking around warily. The atmosphere was heavy, some members looking at the ground, some at the sky, all avoiding Doyoung’s eyes. The boys seemed to be uncomfortable with the subject matter, so Doyoung hurried to dissuade their worries. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s ok.” Hansol grinned wryly, “Thank you, but there’s no need to look so afraid. I’m just going to tell you our history, how the NCT pack came to be.” Doyoung nodded, relaxing a bit, and Johnny leaned over, muttering “Get comfortable, we’ll be here for a while.”

**_Four years ago_ **

Hansol stomped into the kitchen of the small apartment, throwing the file onto the table and slumping into a chair, putting his head in his hands. Mark and Donghyuck jumped at the bang of the door, looking up from where they were huddled over Donghyuck’s phone. 

“I’m guessing it didn’t go well?” Mark asks, frowning. 

“No, it went fine. They signed the papers” sighed Hansol, rubbing his face and resting his chin in his hands. “Just- Hyuck how did you deal with those people for fourteen years?” Donghyuck shrugged, looking back down at his phone. 

“They didn’t really pay attention to me. Well, at least until I was around eight and they could parade me around in front of their friends, showing off their ‘perfect little boy.’ ” 

“Good thing we met when you were seven,” Mark added, nudging Donghyuck, “I don’t even want to imagine what it would have been like if you had to go through that alone.” Donghyuck nodded, smiling and nudging Mark back. 

“You also brought out the worst in me. Those dinner parties were a wreck once you taught me how to prank people. Why do you think I’ve barely been in that house since I was ten? Once they knew I would never live up to their standards they ignored me again.”

“Yeah, thank God I’ve got custody now. I don’t want you around those homophobic psychos for one more minute.” Hansol growled, remembering how Donghyuck’s mother and father flipped through the papers nonchalantly before signing the final page. “I’m surprised they gave up so quickly. They barely even looked through the papers before signing them.” Donghuck chuckled.

“I’m not surprised. The last time they took interest in me was when the maid found the magazines under my bed and they kicked me out for being gay.” 

“Like, what is their fucking problem?” Mark fumed, drumming his fingers on the table erratically. “They’re fine with you being a witch, but being gay is apparently too much for them.” 

“Being a witch benefits them.” Donghyuck responded, rubbing calming circles on Mark’s arm. “I did little parlor tricks for their friends. Me being gay doesn’t benefit them at all.” Donghyuck suddenly looked up at Hansol worriedly. “We’re leaving now, right? I mean, Jaehyun and Jeno’s parents gave permission for them to move schools, Johnny has custody of Mark, and now you’ve got custody of me.” 

“Yeah we’re already all packed, Hansol, we just want to leave. I think Johnny is getting worse,” Mark added, glancing towards the Johnny’s closed bedroom door. Dark bags circled under Mark’s eyes, and Hansol could see how his brother’s reclusiveness weighed on him. Desperate to make his pack happy again, Hansol smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. 

“I think we need to call the pack together. I’ve got an announcement.” 

After a quick phone call to Jaehyun, Hansol and Mark head to Johnny’s room to drag him out. Opening the door, Hansol peeks in the the dim area and spots Johnny laying on his back on his bed. Hansol opens the door wider, flicking on the light and heading over to the bed. Johnny throws an arm over his eyes and rolls to his side to face the wall, back towards Hansol. 

“Johnny.” Hansol nudges Johnny. The only reply is a faint groan. “Johnny!” Hansol tries again, same response. “Johnny.” Hansol finally growls out, eyes flashing alpha silver. Johnny quickly rolls back over, planting his feet on the ground and standing. Johnny glares at Hansol. “Dick move.” Hansol rolls his eyes, and Mark grabs Johnny by the arm, leading him out of his room and sitting him down on the couch. Mark and Donghyuck sat down on either side of Johnny, and once Jaehyun and Jeno arrived, Hansol stood in the center of the room, calling their attention to him. Hansol looked at each member, a smile fighting its way onto his face, his eyes practically glowing. 

“So… you all must be wondering why I called you here” Hansol said, dragging out the tension. 

“Oh my God just tell us!” Donghyuck yelled, Jeno giggling from his place on the floor in front of Mark. 

“Well…” Hansol paused, “I put a down payment on a house near the city!” The room erupted in cheers, Mark and Donghyuck tackling Jeno to the floor in joy, while Jaehyun collapsed onto the couch next to Johnny and slung an arm around his shoulder, shaking him in excitement. 

“Alright, alright, calm down all of you,” Hansol called out, waving his hands and bringing the attention back to him. “This means Jae, Mark, Jeno, and Donghyuck will be changing schools. Jae, I’m sorry we’re doing this right before your senior year.” 

“It’s worth it, it’s so fucking worth it.” Jaehyun practically cried.

“Johnny, both you and I will have to work,” Hansol added, pinning Johnny with his gaze. “This means you’ll have to actually get out of your room and interact with the outside world.” Johnny nodded seriously, replying “anything to get out of here.”

“I’ll work too” Jaehyun interjected. “I can keep up with my schoolwork and hold a job at the same time.” 

“Thank you Jae, you probably will have to work. You guys already empty out my pantry practically every day, and we need to pay for groceries!” Hansol smiled back.

“WOO WE’RE LEAVING THIS SHITHOLE!” Donghyuck yelled, pumping his fist in the air while Jeno and Mark high-fived. A smile slowly grew on Johnny’s face, the first one Hansol had seen in months. Hansol had hoped and hoped but this was the first time he knew, he truly knew,  _ we’ll be ok. _

**_Present Day_ **

“A week later we moved, and once the kids each hit sixteen they also started working. We found Yuta working in a bar, struck up a friendship, and took him in. Johnny and I took classes at the local college and now we each have bachelor’s degrees, him in Elementary Education, me in Business Finance. Johnny is currently working as a kindergarten teacher and I work at a bank in the city. Yuta just finished up his last year of university, and he double majored in Accounting and Economics, so he works as a corporate financial consultant. Mark just completed his first year of college, and Jeno and Hyuck are about to start their first year.” Hansol finished. “Any questions?” Doyoung ran the story over in his head. “Wait. Yuta, how old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

“And you’re already a corporate consultant? Doesn’t that take years of experience?” 

Yuta nodded. “Yeah, but I started getting corporate experience at a very young age.” Doyoung wanted to continue his questioning, but looking around he knew everyone else just wanted to go home. Their exciting weekend and re-hashing of their past seemed to drain the pack, so Doyoung assured that he had no more questions. 

“Alright then, let’s go!” Hansol called. They packed up the rest of the chairs and Hansol decided that Yuta, Mark, Jeno, and Donghyuck will ride with him while Jaehyun and Doyoung would ride back with Johnny in his truck. Sitting in the backseat and settling in for the four hour drive, Doyoung gazed out the window, watching the trees pass by. The quiet time allowed him to really consider the story Hansol had just told him. To go through so much at such a young age, but come out the other side stronger was amazing. Circumstances that might tear another group of friends apart actually bonded these men together. As they drove out of the camping area, Johnny switched on the radio and Jaehyun leaned his head back in the passenger seat, falling dozing off. As he sees the trees thin out after an hour, the weight Doyoung hadn’t even noticed on his chest started to lighten.  _ Finally. It’s over.  _ Sensing the change in mood, Johnny looks at Doyoung in the rear view mirror. 

“You alright?” 

“Yeah” Doyoung replies, a faint glimmer of a smile on his face. “Yeah, I’m really good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: things_nct  
> Lol next update you'll get Johnten and Damn Am I Emotional


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put pictures of the house and all of the rooms up on my twitter! It's attached to the thread pinned to my profile: things_nct

Two hours into the drive Doyoung feels something itching at the back of his mind. Doyoung lets the question fester for another two minutes before he can’t bear it anymore and pipes up from the back. “Hey Johnny? Hansol’s story mostly focused on Donghyuck. What happened to you and Mark? How did you get custody of him?” Jaehyun looks up from the book he is halfway through and he and Johnny exchange indecipherable glances. Sighing, Johnny’s eyes return to the road.

“Well,” Johnny responds, “I got kicked out when I was 18 for mating with a vampire, and my mom and stepfather, David, handed over custody of Mark when he decided to follow me.” Doyoung eyes widened, looking for a mating mark on Johnny’s neck. The previously unnoticed faded white twin bite marks now look obvious, and Doyoung is surprised he didn’t notice them before, telling Johnny as such.

“I’m not surprised.” Johnny laughs bitterly. “Nobody really expects a  _ vampire _ and a  _ werewolf _ to be mates, so they never look for the mark.” Doyoung nods, biting his lip, afraid to ask his next question. Johnny meets Doyoung’s eyes in the rearview mirror briefly before returning his gaze to the road, continuing his story. “We met when he was in 6th grade and I was in 7th. His rich vampire parents wanted him to ‘develop social skills around humans,’ so they sent him to our school. We became best friends quickly, practically attached at the hip. He would complain about his overprotective, stifling parents, I would complain about Mom and David’s forced, loveless marriage. He was the kind of friend that just understood me from the start. When I was with him…” Johnny pauses, “the rest of the world just didn’t matter. We could face anyone, do anything, as long we had each other. An us against the world kind of thing, I guess.” Johnny sighs and shrugs, shaking his head. “Anyways, we mated right after his 17th birthday, when he became legal in the supernatural world, figuring it would be better to be mates with someone we knew rather than someone our parents forced us to mate with. We hid it for a few months, and somewhere between the ice cream dates, movie nights, and late night runs to the convenience store we actually fell in love. We went to my senior prom together, and a week later I threw someone across the lunch room for tripping Ten on purpose and not apologizing.” Johnny chuckled. “Ten made me apologize to him. You should've seen the look on Ten’s face, he was so pissed. Proud, but pissed. I was suspended, but not expelled cause my parents donated tons of money to the school. Of course the school told our parents about the incident. Ten’s parents locked him up in their house and my parents threw me out. I moved in with Hansol and finished out high school.” Johnny stops his story, knuckles turning white on the steering wheel, shoulders tensing. “Mark followed me after a fight with our parents but soon after that-” Johnny stops again, throat too choked up with tears to continue. Jaehyun leans over, gripping his shoulder and continuing for him.

“Soon after that Ten was caught one night trying to escape to meet Johnny. His dad flew into an absolute rage. Ten was….he was killed.” Johnny rubbed his mate mark, gulping hard, blinking away tears. Shrugging away Jaehyun’s offer to drive, Johnny straightens up and focuses back on the road.

“Hyuck and Mark had been best friends for as long as Ten and I, so when Mark moved in, Hyuck practically moved in too. Jaehyun and Jeno’s parents were in the pack with our parents, along with Hansol’s parents, so we all grew up together. The reason that Hansol had is own place was because once Hansol’s parents died he sold their house and used his inheritance to buy an own apartment and started working and taking college classes. He got some financial help from our parents’ pack too.”

“It wasn’t a real pack,” Jaehyun butts in. “There was no sense of loyalty or family. It was just rich people wanting to be around other rich people. They really only gave Hansol money because they felt guilty the Ji’s were poisoned by another werewolf pack that they were arguing with.” Jaehyun’s hand ran through his dark brown hair in frustration, pulling at the roots. “That’s why my parents let Jeno and me move to the city with our own little pack. They knew Jeno and I hated it there and they knew their pack was in shambles. Once I hit 18, just like what happened with Mark and Hyuck, I got custody of Jeno.” Jaehyun adds a disclaimer, saying “I don’t hold a grudge against our parents. They were never cut out to care for us. They were forced into it to carry on the pack legacy. They still send us money sometimes out of guilt, so I really can’t complain.” Jaehyun leans back in his seat, sadly smiling back at Doyoung. “So there you have it. The story of how NCT came to be. I’d tell you Yuta’s story, but it’s not mine to tell.”

“NCT?” Doyoung frowns. “What does that mean?”  Jaehyun laughs, eyes squinting into crescents, emulating his younger brother. “Jeno made it up. It stands for Neo Culture Technology. He had just learned about the Neolithic era in school, which was the era when humans started to create their own technology. New technology confuses all of our parents, and we confuse our parents, so he thought it was fitting. The culture was because we’re creating a new culture of trust and love between the pack members, different from what our parents have shown us.”

Doyoung nods and remains quiet, mulling over NCT’s history. To have such a strong bond, a family that is wholly committed to each other, is a foreign concept to him.  _ This… this is kind of nice _ .

  
  


“We’re here!” Johnny calls out, jerking Doyoung out of a slumber he didn’t even realize he had fallen into. Looking around he notices they were outside of the ER, Jaehyun already opening the door to help Doyoung out.

“My legs work fine goddamit I can do it myself!” Doyoung huffs, ignoring Jaehyun’s proffered hand. Jaehyun just grins and helps Doyoung anyway, leading him through the door and to the front desk to talk to the nurse. After an hour of waiting and a brief examination by a doctor, Doyoung’s shoulder is splinted and he is prescribed light pain medication and frequent icings.

“This is just a fancier, and more expensive, version of what Hansol did.” Doyoung grumbles as they leave the ER, picking at his new sling. “We didn’t even need to come here.”

“Yeah but it’s nice to confirm that you’ll be ok and heal well” Jaehyun replies, helping a reluctant Doyoung back into the car.

“Werebunnies already recover five times faster than the average human. I was going to be fine no matter what. The doctor didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.” Doyoung argues back, slapping Jaehyun’s hand away when he reaches to buckle Doyoung’s seatbelt. 

Jaehyun leans back and raises an eyebrow at Doyoung. “And when’s the last time you read a medical journal?”

“Three weeks ago.” Doyoung smiles primly, buckling the seatbelt firmly into place. Jaehyun rolls his eyes, closing the car door and going around to jump into his seat. 

“Alright Johnny, let’s go home!”

After a short drive away from the hospital the boys arrive outside of a white two story farmhouse, surprisingly surrounded by trees, even this close to the city. As Jaehyun, yet again, opens Doyoung’s door to help him out, Doyoung just rolls his eyes and accepts the help, Jaehyun’s smile growing even wider as Doyoung takes his hand. As soon as Doyoung is safely out of the car, Jaehyun lets go, and Doyoung can’t help but miss the warmth. Walking up to the house Doyoung appreciates the well groomed flowers and bushes, and mentioning it to Jaehyun, Jaehyun explains that Donghyuck has quite the green thumb, developing spells and potions to foster grown and health in the plants. Spells that have unfortunately gone wrong a few times. Walking through the front door Doyoung notices a small bedroom to his left, which Jaehyun mentions will be his, and a large open living room and kitchen area to his right. As Johnny squeezes in behind them and heads upstairs, Doyoung meanders through the living room and kitchen, coming to another living area at the back of the house which houses a TV and several gaming consoles, with videos games strewn across the coffee table. Jaehyun, the leader of Doyoung’s tour, blushes and rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. “I guess even with our two hours at the hospital the guys here still neglected to clean up a little for you.”

Doyoung smiles at Jaehyun’s red-tipped ears. “It’s alright, I don’t mind a little mess” He reassures, motioning Jaehyun to continue.

As they head upstairs, Doyoung gazes at the many pictures on the wall of the pack members. Pictures at the beach, in the park, at high school and college graduations. Some clearly posed, others candid, all with grins and happiness shining through the frame. Reaching the upstairs, Jaehyun leads Doyoung past another very small sitting area with one chair, a side table, and a small bookcase. He opens the door to the first room quietly, and Johnny is lounging on the bed, book in hand, My Chemical Romance playing on the speakers. Johnny doesn’t even notice them, too involved in his book and nodding his head along to the music. The room is quite dark, but surprisingly along the walk there is a bookshelf half filled with books, half filled with cute plushies. Before Jaehyun can shut the door, Doyoung notices a picture on Johnny’s bedside table of a younger Johnny in a suit, arm around the shoulders of a much smaller silver haired man. They are both grinning at the camera, heads leaning towards each other, practically moulded into each other’s sides. The door shuts and Jaehyun leads Doyoung to the next door, opening up to the sounds of Red Velvet and Donghuck dancing around the room, while Mark sits on his bed, earbuds in, writing in a notebook. Donghyuck smiles at Doyoung, going over and turning down the music. Mark looks up and grins too, asking “how’s the shoulder?”

“Much better” Doyoung responds, adding “were-bunnies heal pretty fast, so I should be fine soon.”

“Awesome!” Donghyuck cries, “The sooner your shoulder heals the sooner I can beat your ass in Mario Kart and claim my title as reigning king.”

Mark rolls his eyes. “You know Yuta lets you win, right?”

“A loser is a loser, no matter how it happens.”

“Alright I’m going to continue on with the tour, once we’re done we can meet in the kitchen for dinner.” Jaehyun interrupts, leading Doyoung out and closing the door. Jaehyun points out Hansol and Yuta’s master bedroom, and both he and Doyoung quickly pass by, neither wanting to enter.

As they walk through the main floor to the basement Doyoung can’t help but notice how the pack made their print on the house. Well-worn couches from the boys throwing themselves down, shoes littered around every entryway, homework and textbooks strewn across the kitchen table, papers with large red “A’s” on the top stuck to the refrigerator door. The house is evidence of the love and adoration each pack member has for each other. Entering the basement Doyoung sees an area that he can only describe as “cozy”. A large U-shaped couch in the middle of the room facing a screen on the wall, blankets and pillows all over the floor, fairy lights hanging from the ceiling. The ceilings are low and the lights are dim, giving the effect of a warm, small, comfortable cave. Jeno sits on the couch on his phone while Hansol and Yuta are snuggled up on the other end of the couch, eyes glued to the anime show on the screen. As Yuta shifts closer to Hansol, the collar of his shirt slips down, showing the bright silvery white bite mark in the crook of his neck. Jeno smiles up at Doyoung, asking about his shoulder, and Doyoung gives the same answer he gave Donghyuck. Jaehyun leads Doyoung to his and Jeno’s room, Doyoung taking a brief glance around, before everyone heads back upstairs to the kitchen. Meeting in the kitchen, Johnny and Jaehyun start to cook dinner while Mark, Jeno, and Donghyuck joke and push each other around on the couches, playing a game.

“Hey I’m sorry your room is so small, it was an office space but we thought it would be better for you to have your own room.” Hansol says to Doyoung, adding “none of us were using the office anyways, so I’m glad it’s finally being used!” Doyoung’s eyes widen and he blurts out “Small? It’s the biggest room I’ve ever had!” Suddenly everyone freezes, the laughter from the couches dying down as everyone turns to look at Doyoung in surprise. Doyoung gulps, shrinking under everyone’s gaze. With a stern glare from Hansol, everyone quickly returns to what they were doing, the sounds of laughter and kitchenware clanking together re-filling the room.

“They’re a bit too nosey for their own good,” Hansol apologizes.

“It’s ok.” Doyoung responds, looking down and fiddling with his fingers. “I’ll probably tell you someday. I mean, you gave me a place to stay! You definitely deserve to know about what happened to me.”

“We gave you a place to stay because we wanted to, not out of a desire to make you tell us about your history.” Hansol reassures.

“Yeah!” Donghyuck pipes up from the couch. “You’re weird. I like you!”

“You’re weird too!” Doyoung shoots back, smile threatening to break through his weak glare.

After dinner the pack settles in the basement movie room to watch a movie together. The three youngest boys sprawl across the floor, Yuta and Hansol cuddle on one end of the couch, and Johnny lays out on the other end, so Doyoung and Jaehyun sit together in the middle. The boys on the floor quickly fall asleep, tired from the long weekend of roughhousing in the woods, so an hour into the movie Yuta and Hansol carry Donghyuck and Mark upstairs and head for their own room, citing the need for some “alone time.” Jeno wakes up when the others leave, shuffling tiredly into his room. Doyoung and Jaehyun stretch out along the couch, quietly chatting with Johnny about plot holes in the movie. Once the movie ends Johnny heads upstairs, but Doyoung and Jaehyun remain, Doyoung icing his shoulder and moving on to talk about Jaehyun’s childhood. Doyoung learns of Jaehyun’s life of privileged emptiness, the kind of emptiness that comes from having everything he could ever need or want, besides the most important thing: a family’s love. That love entered his life when Jeno did, and at the age of three Jaehyun decided that the tiny baby with the crinkled eyes would have every bit of love that Jaehyun’s body could offer. Moving into elementary school and meeting Johnny and Hansol helped Jaehyun realize a new kind of love: a love of understanding and friendship. Johnny understood Jaehyun’s need to devote himself to his younger brother, because he had made the same promise to Mark. Hansol took the younger boys under his wing, showing them the ins and outs of being werewolves and how to keep their abilities hidden from humans. When Ten and Donghyuck entered their lives, Jaehyun and Jeno didn’t feel threatened by their best friends finding new friends. Rather, they welcomed the new members with opened arms, allowing them to fit in the group like puzzle pieces.

“At first I was kind of wary of Ten. My parents didn’t teach me much, but they definitely taught me not to trust vampires. But, I realized if Johnny trusted him, then I trusted him. I didn’t feel threatened by Ten because I knew, even when we first met, what he had with Johnny was different from what I had with Johnny.” Jaehyun mused. “They were the kind of people that were destined to be mates. Understanding each other with only a glance, their sense of humor matching up perfectly, they practically had the Bond before they even bit each other. The mark didn’t create something new between them, it just intensified what they already had.” Jaehyun suddenly pauses, face darkening. “I was there with Johnny when Ten died. He felt it all, Ten’s fear and agony, and then the sudden break. It was devastating to see his Bond mark fade into a scar. He said it felt like his breath was sucked out of his lungs, and to this day he still hasn’t gotten it back. Moving here helped him a lot, because back in our hometown there was reminders everywhere of Ten. Even though Johnny does want to remember every moment he had with Ten because they’re precious to him, it’s really unwelcome when the memory is just sprung upon him unexpectedly. That’s why Johnny didn’t leave his room after Ten died. If he saw anything that even remotely reminded him of Ten Johnny would break down. Here it’s easier for Johnny to remember all the good things about his time with Ten, rather than all of the traumatic things in our hometown.” 

Doyoung sighed. “I can’t even imagine how thoroughly awful that must have been.” Jaehyun nodded, the room settling into a comfortable silence. Suddenly looking over at Doyoung, eyes widening and face clearing, Jaehyun said “Well that was fucking depressing. Let’s go to bed!”

Jaehyun goes to his room, grabbing clothes and extra toiletries for Doyoung, and they both head upstairs. “Need any help?” Jaehyun grins as Doyoung grabs the clothes and puts them in the drawers in his room. Doyoung scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“I’m hurt, not paralyzed. I can change by myself!”

“Alright” Jaehyun shrugs, stepping out of the room and bidding Doyoung goodnight. Changing into his pj pants, Doyoung sighs and looks down at his shoulder brace and sling. Carefully lifting the edge of the shirt up, Doyoung goes to pull it over his head, only stopped by a surge of pain in his shoulder. Gasping, Doyoung immediately lets his shirt fall back down. Grabbing the back of his collar, Doyoung starts to pull his shirt forward over his head, again stopped when he can’t manage to lift his arm to get it out of the shirt. After struggling for a good ten minutes to take his shirt off without hurting himself more, Doyoung finally gives up.

“Jaehyun?”

“Yes?” Jaehyun appears at the door immediately, looking incredibly smug. Doyoung rolls his eyes and motions to his shoulder.

“I don’t understand, what exactly did you call me for?” Jaehyun asks, stepping into the room and looking deceptively confused.

“C’mon Jaehyun do I really have to spell it out for you?” Doyoung grumbles.

Crossing his arms, Jaehyun smirks. “I’m not doing anything until you ask nicely.”

Doyoung and Jaehyun stare at each other, Doyoung glaring from the middle of the room but Jaehyun leaning against the doorframe, a faint smile on his lips.

“Jung Jaehyun, you oh so wonderful werewolf, my savior from the woods, would you please help my change my shirt?”

Jaehyun lets out a audible gasp. “Oh so that’s what you wanted? Doyoung you should have just asked! Of course I’ll help you!”

The werewolf proceeds to saunter over, grinning, dimples on full display, as Doyoung huffs and fiddles with the hem of his shirt. Grabbing the bottom of the shirt, Jaehyun carefully works it off of Doyoung’s uninjured arm, then over his head, then off the injured arm. Feeling the burn of Jaehyun’s gaze on his torso, examining his scars, Doyoung self consciously crosses his arm over himself. Jaehyun notices something he hadn’t before. Ribs protruding from under Doyoung’s skin. Jaehyun sucks in a quiet breath, eyes flicking back up to Doyoung’s face. The were-bunny refuses to meet Jaehyun’s eyes, looking at a painting on the wall of his room. Averting his eyes and grabbing the loose T-shirt he provided, Jaehyun quickly repeats the process backwards, covering up the scars.

“Alright, all set.” Jaehyun finishes, backing up. Doyoung clears his throat uncomfortably, nodding, and Jaehyun hurries out.  _ That’s it. He thinks I’m disgusting _ Doyoung thinks, tears building up behind his eyes. Footsteps sound as Jaehyun suddenly reappears at the door.

“I forgot to wish you goodnight!”

“Oh! Well, um, goodnight.”

“Yeah, goodnight Doyoung.” And with that, Jaehyun leaves with one last reassuring smile. Feeling the weight of the past two days crash down onto his shoulders, Doyoung flops on his bed. Curling to his side and pulling his blankets over him, Doyoung’s eyes flutter shut and he slips into a deep, dark, dreamless sleep.

  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

A month has passed since Doyoung fell into the campsite and the lives of the NCT pack, and Doyoung finds himself fitting in quite well. Doyoung surprised them all with a talent for cooking, in turn taking over for Johnny. The whole pack definitely tastes the difference. Yuta finally found a match for his sass, and the youngest three boys appreciate how willing Doyoung is to help them with study for upcoming tests and exams. To the young boys, Doyoung is a fountain of interesting facts, his varied yet in-depth knowledge getting them higher grades on tests them ever before. Doyoung finds himself learning as much as the boys, even reading their textbooks and material for fun. Mark is often found the night before an exam in the living room with Doyoung, revising music theory and perfecting his guitar compositions. Jeno, a vocal hater of any and all schoolwork, turns to Doyoung whenever he needs to study, finding Doyoung’s tendency to add information that the teacher didn’t mention a lot more interesting. Donghyuck often drags Doyoung up to his room, forcing the were-bunny to help with his spells and potions. The sun witch’s spell books are filled with annotations from Doyoung that greatly improve the quality and potency of his potions. 

With each passing day Doyoung leans more and more on the pack, finding his place. He still feels their worried eyes on him when he’s not looking, and even though his shoulder is long healed, Doyoung knows the pack treats him a little bit more delicately than they treat each other. If something heavy needs to be carried, Johnny will take it out of Doyoung’s arms. The pensive face that Jaehyun puts on when Doyoung is using a knife to prepare food would be funny if it didn’t make him want to scream in frustration. If Doyoung needs to get up from where he is sitting to get something, one of the younger boys will get it for him. With Jeno, and even Mark, Doyoung thought they were just being kind dongsaengs, but when Donghyuck started getting stuff for him, Doyoung’s suspicions were raised. The only person who treated Doyoung normally was Yuta, who would occasionally even go out of his way to inconvenience Doyoung. While outwardly Doyoung would bicker with Yuta, they both knew how much Doyoung appreciated their weird friendship. Doyoung’s growing annoyance at, in his opinion, being treated like a flower, came to a head when Doyoung asked if Hansol knew of any job openings. 

“You don’t need to get a job, we’ve got rent and groceries more than enough covered.” Hansol replied, looking down at the house finance sheet he and Yuta were working on together. 

“I know, but I want to be able to pay for things myself, without having to ask you guys for money all the time.”

“I can give you a monthly allowance if you’d like, but getting a job would be really unnecessary.” Hansol’s face is instantly overcome with regret as he puts a hand to his mouth.

Doyoung’s eyes widen and there is a faint gasp from the couch where the youngest boys were eavesdropping. “A  _ monthly allowance?  _ I am a  _ functioning adult _ , not a helpless  _ child _ that you need to provide for!”

“No Doyoung I didn’t mean to-“

“Hansol do you expect me to stay locked up in this house forever?” Doyoung picks up steam, face flushing. “The only time I go outside is to get groceries, and even then half the time you’ll make me write a list of what I need and send another member to get it! I’m  _ dying _ trapped in this goddamn house and even though I love you all, I need to go outside! I need to meet new people! I need some semblance of independence and I don’t know why you all refuse to give it to me!”

“Doyoung we’re just afraid something will happen to you.”

“I appreciate that and I appreciate everything you all have done for me, but I’m not a helpless baby. I want to rejoin society and I can’t do that with all of you treating me like I’m about to break at any moment.”

Yuta, who was scrolling through his phone during Doyoung’s outburst, suddenly looks up. “There’s an opening at the bar I used to work at. You can wait tables and they’ll teach you how to bartend.”

“NO” Jaehyun growls from the other side of the kitchen table, “that’s way too dangerous.”

“Oh come on Jae it’s a bar/restaurant not a bar/club. Families go there!” 

“Yeah during the day. At night there’s wolves from other packs, vampires, shady witches, and tons of other dangers. He can’t protect himself, he’ll get hurt!” 

“Alright first of all, don’t talk about me like I’m not here. Second of all, I was tortured for fourteen years of my life I think I can hold my own against a few horny supernaturals!” Doyoung butts in angrily. Just like every time Doyoung mentions his past, the room froze, eyes glued on Doyoung. He sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Alright. Let’s sit down.”  Doyoung walks over to the couch, the kids moving aside to let him sit. Hansol and Yuta settle in the loveseat across from him and Jaehyun and Johnny each took chairs on either side of the loveseat.

“So when I was five my dad died. My mother had me too young, was never really qualified to take care of me, and once my father died she pretty much gave up on life. Sinking into alcoholism, my mother sold me off when I was eight to a coven of witches. This entire coven lived in one huge mansion together. They made me their slave, forcing me to cook, clean, and anything else their heart desired. They also liked to test out their potions on me. Their favorite was healing potions because of the amount of fights they got into with other covens. The cuts on my body are from them cutting me open and shoving potions down my throat. The injuries escalated over time, but they traveled a lot and didn’t want to take me so it only got really bad right before I escaped. They still put spells on the house though so I wasn’t able to leave when they went on their trips. Being stuck in the house all the time, I didn’t anything to do except read books from their library. I taught myself everything I know, from science and math to literature to astronomy and whatever else I could get my hands on. They also put spells on me so I was never able to transform into bunny form unless they let me. The day I escaped they had just dislocated my shoulder, so I was actually able to squeeze myself out through a gap in the experimenting cell they kept me in when they wanted to observe my reactions. I escaped the house and once I was out of their magical range I shifted into bunny form and ran off.” Doyoung shrugs, ending his story. “And so here I am.” 

Jeno and Donghyuck snuggle into Doyoung’s sides, resting their heads on his shoulders. 

“I’m glad you’re here now,” Jeno whispers. Donghyuck sniffles from Doyoung’s other side. 

“Oh my God are you crying?”

“Shut up Doyoung it’s sad!”

“Wow I brought the great Hyuck to tears.” 

Donghyuck giggles, and just like that, the mood is lighter. Hansol sighs. 

“Yuta, tell your old boss Doyoung will take the job.” 

After that day Doyoung started working at the Sun and Moon Bar and Restaurant, initially waiting tables, but quickly gaining the skills to work as a bartender. The job was hard, but Doyoung was a fast learner, and his glowing smile but take-no-shit attitude attracted many customers back again and again. For the first month of work Hansol, Johnny, or Jaehyun would escort Doyoung to and from work, even staying for a while to make sure Doyoung was safe. After they noticed how the employees at the bar looked out for one another, they slowly got less wary. The first time Doyoung went to work by himself he practically cried with relief on the bus. Hansol and Johnny soon stopped shadowing Doyoung entirely, and it was just Jaehyun taking Doyoung back home. They would chat about weird customers, how classes were going, how Jaehyun’s job at the mechanic’s shop was treating him. Jaehyun would gently tease Doyoung and Doyoung would pretend to be mad, but quickly turn to smile and point out a cute dog or cool graffiti. Doyoung found out even more about Jaehyun, each revelation like a little present. There was surface level things, like how Jaehyun loves peaches and swimming, but hates raisins. But as the walks continued, Doyoung learned deeper things. Like how weak Jaehyun thought his parents were and how no matter how much he worked out he never felt strong enough.

“I think in some shallow way they do care for each other, but it never really extended beyond surface level, ya’know?” Jaehyun asks one night, looking at the road ahead of them. “They get along, they can live together, but they also wouldn’t mind moving to the Bahamas by themselves and living in a resort alone doing whatever they want. They just can’t find it in themselves to genuinely be there for someone other than themselves. That’s why I get so...protective sometimes. Because they wouldn't bother protecting us,” Jaehyun sighs, then shakes his head. “Don’t mind me,” he jokes, “I’m just ranting again about my shitty childhood growing up in a mansion with a great group of friends.” Doyoung nudges Jaehyun, smiling gently. “Jae, your feelings are important. Even though I may not act like it, I do appreciate how much you all care for me and how you strive to protect me.” Doyoung pauses. “Even if you go a bit far sometimes.” Jaehyun flashes his signature dimples back, eyes crinkling. 

“I’ll always be there for you Doyoungie.” Jaehyun responds, grabbing Doyoung’s hand briefly and squeezing before letting go. Doyoung blushes, thankful for the nighttime cover. Those were the times that Doyoung felt the most content. No expectations, no past or future, just here in the moment with Jaehyun. Of course when they got home Mark would pull Jaehyun away to listen to his new composition, and either Donghyuck would shove a game controller into Doyoung’s hands or Jeno would be there with a smile and a stack of flashcards to study for his upcoming test. It’s on one of these nights that Doyoung finally peels himself away from Jeno and his endless studying to go make supper when he finds Jaehyun in the kitchen, already preparing the chicken for their meal. Doyoung smiles at Jaehyun as he goes to wash his hands. Jaehyun smiles back, reaching inside the chicken to pull out the bag of gizzards and set it aside for when Yuta gets his weird cravings. Having discussed what they were going to make on the walk home, Doyoung goes to mince the garlic cloves, adding it to the melted butter. As Doyoung turns to prepare the rosemary, he feels Jaehyun come up behind him, hooking a chin over his right shoulder. 

“What part are you at?” Jaehyun asks. Doyoung madly tries to fight of the impending blush, replying “Just preparing the butter mix to spread on the chicken.” Jaehyun hums in response, chest rumbling against Doyoung’s back. Doyoung can feel Jaehyun’s breath across his cheek as the wolf turns to look at him. Swallowing hard, Doyoung ignores Jaehyun’s gaze as his eyes flick around the countertop, looking for what he needs next.  _ The lemon zester there. To my right. Where Jaehyun just so happens to be.  _

“Did you know that lemons are native to Asia?” Doyoung blurts out. Jaehyun chuckles, grabbing the zester and putting it in front of Doyoung. 

“No I didn’t know that” He replies, returning to his place at the other countertop and busying himself preparing the other food. Doyoung breaths out slowly, grabbing the tool and finishing his work. 

“Tell me more.” 

Doyoung starts, almost dropping the zester. “Really?” He asks, turning and looking at Jaehyun. Jaehyun nods without looking up from his work. 

“Yeah, it’s interesting.” Jaehyun turns and smiles at Doyoung. “I always learn something when I’m with you.”

Doyoung blushes, furiously scraping the lemon across the zester. “Well, the most common types of lemons are the Meyer, Eureka, and Lisbon lemons.” As Doyoung continues, he and Jaehyun settle back into their routine, Jaehyun occasionally humming in response to something he finds particularly interesting.  

Every night the pack makes sure to all be together, sitting around the dinner table eating and talking about their day. Tonight was no different, Johnny inevitably launching into a spiel chronicling how much progress one of his kindergarteners had made that day. Jeno and Donghyuck roll their eyes at each other while Mark smiles at Johnny, trying to pay attention to his brother. These nights were perfect, comfortable, and Doyoung felt at home. It only makes sense that they were bound to end at any moment.

It was an average Wednesday night, and Doyoung was walking to the bus stop, going home alone for the first time. Jaehyun was held up at work and Doyoung didn’t bother to text Hansol or Johnny, assuming that no one dangerous would be out during the middle of the week. Doyoung muses over Mark’s music homework, thinking of different arrangements that might improve the piece, when suddenly he is pulled into a dark alley and pushed up against the wall. Brick pokes into his back and an arm presses against Doyoung’s throat, breath struggling to wheeze out. 

“What’s a pretty little bunny like you doing out here so late at night?” His attacker growls next to his ear. Doyoung sniffs in, smelling the alcohol and…  _ werewolf. _ Wiggling, Doyoung’s breath hisses out faster, panicking, as the arm presses harder and harder into his throat. 

“Oh no bunny, you’re not going-” suddenly the pressure is gone, and Doyoung slides to the floor in relief, gasping. A faint  _ thud, thud _ comes from the other side of the alley as Doyoung’s savior slams his fists into the attacker. Throwing the attacker into the street, the humiliated man scrambles off. Doyoung’s savior turns to Doyoung, smiling and holding out a hand. 

“Hi! I’m Sehun.”

Doyoung nods, grabbing the hand and getting up.

“Doyoung. Thanks.” He says, dusting off his clothes. Suddenly Doyoung feels his legs collapse from under him. “Haha!” Doyoung cries out helplessly, struggling to get his feet back under him. “I can’t seem to stand.” Sehun chuckles and comes over, helping Doyoung move to sit on a discarded box. 

“It’s ok, you’ve had a bit of a shock.” As they sat catching their breaths and waiting for Doyoung’s strength to return to him, Doyoung sniffs again. The smell is familiar to him as the back of his own hand. In fact, Doyoung’s pretty sure that it is the smell of the back of his hand. “You’re a bunny?” he exclaims in surprise. The tall man shrugs and nods. “But- you’re so strong!”

“What, you think bunnies can’t be strong?”

“I guess they can but we don’t exactly go around saving people’s lives.”

Sehun frowns and huffs, “Well I have eight guys with me that beg to differ.” 

Doyoung’s mouth gapes open and his eyes grew wide. “Eight men? You have an entire pack of bunnies?”

“Yes and I would love to tell you about it but we’re in a creepy alley right now and I would really like to get you home safely so if we could get on that…”

“Oh! Yes!” Doyoung starts, standing and leading Sehun to the bus stop. Walking through the streets together, Sehun leanes close and sniffs Doyoung. Surprised, Doyoung jerks away and almost crashes into a street light. 

“Woah, sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you!” Sehun apologizes, grabbing Doyoung’s arm and steadying him.

“Dude what was that about?”

“You just smell really familiar….Do you happen to know the NCT pack by any chance?”

“Uhm, yeah. I’ve been living with them for a while. How do you know them?”

“I’m friends with Johnny! The rest of the pack was on their way to visit him so we’re actually heading to the same place.” 

As they board the bus Sehun told of his packs nomadic lifestyle, moving around and helping wherever they’re needed. Even though were-bunnies are typically solitary, the men of the EXO pack found safety and strength in numbers. They first ran into Johnny during Johnny’s senior year of high school. Johnny had seen one of their smallest, yet fierces, members being attacked and stepped in to help. Quickly realizing Xiumin had it under control, Johnny stepped back and let Xiumin do his thing. When the attacker was taken care of, instead of treating them like freaks, Johnny invited the pack back to his house to stay while his parents were on a trip. The EXO and NCT packs got along like white on rice, and they kept in touch throughout the years, visiting when they could, telling stories of what they had seen and done. Disembarking from the bus Doyoung and Sehun walk the rest of the way home, Doyoung catching Sehun up with the recent news of the pack, how Doyoung had met them, and how the members were doing.

“Sehun!” A voice calls from the front porch of the house once they arrive, Johnny jogging over and wrapping Sehun up in a bear hug. The members of both packs sit outside on porch chairs, enjoying the cool night air. After Doyoung is introduced to the rest of the EXO pack, Jaehyun grabs his arm and pulls Doyoung down into the chair next to him. Leaning over, Jaehyun quietly asks “why didn’t you ask Hansol or Johnny, or even Yuta, to walk you home?”

“I figured I would be fine. The trip is pretty short anyways.” 

“How did you run into Sehun?”

Pausing, Doyoung gulps.  _ I’m a terrible liar, he’d catch me in a second.  _ Sighing, Doyoung concedes “I was kind of attacked?”

“ _ You were attacked?!” _ Jaehyun yells, shooting up from his seat. 

Doyoung’s hands shoot out in effort to placate Jaehyun. “Calm down, Sehun was there, I’m fine!”

“But what if he wasn't? You could have been killed or kidnapped or something! You can’t just go out on your own like that! You can’t protect yourself!”

“Well maybe if you taught me self defense and allowed me to do things by myself sometimes instead of babying me I could have defended myself from him!” Doyoung yells back, also standing up from his seat. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Johnny ushering Mark, Jeno, and Donghyuck back into the house, and feels a brief flash of guilt, but that is quickly overpowered by his anger.

“Hey, hey, hey guys, let’s calm down a little bit.” Hansol says, walking over and standing in between the two men. 

“How am I supposed to calm down when we’re allowing him to work in a place where he’s put in danger every day?”

“ _ Allowing me _ ? Who gave you the right to  _ allow _ me to do anything? What are you, my master? Do you have complete control over everything I do?”

Jaehyun takes a step back, face going pale. “Oh my God Doyoung I didn’t mean it like that, I’m so sorry.”

“You need to realize that you are not going to be able to take care of me for forever! Dangerous things could happen to me any day and none of you have taken a single step to actually prepare me for that.” Pausing and rocking back on his heels, Doyoung looks down, running his hands through his hair in frustration. A thought had come to him that he hadn’t dared consider before. “Is it because- because I’m a bunny?” The half second pause after Doyoung utteres that sentence seems to stretch on forever, his heart sinking with sadness. 

“No, of course not!” Hansol quickly reassures, but the damage was done. Not even sparing Hansol a glance, Doyoung looks up into Jaehyun’s eyes, searching for the truth. Seeing the answer he always feared, the were-bunny retreats, running into the house and to his room, shutting the door behind him and sliding down to the floor. Tears threaten to spill over as Doyoung buries his head in his hands. Gasping and sniffling, Doyoung looks up at the ceiling, rubbing his aching chest. After a few moments there’s a quiet knock at his door. 

“It’s Yuta” a voice calls, and Doyoung stands up to let him in, quickly closing the door behind Yuta. They both settle on Doyoung’s bed, laying parallel looking up at the ceiling.

“I thought we had finally moved past this” Doyoung whispers after a few moments of silence, tears still streaming out of the corners of his eyes. Yuta sighs. 

“They’re just worried. Hansol still gets protective over me, and I have more power than all of them combined.” Doyoung gently smiles, the pain in his chest easing up a bit.

“I’m a manly man!” Yuta continues, “I don’t need human tree Hansol to protect me!” At this Doyoung giggles, and Yuta rolls onto his side and smiles back, glad to see his friend feeling better. “I mean part of the reason Hansol might feel so protective of me is because I left for three months to figure my life out though.” Yuta continues nonchalantly, rolling back onto his back.

“Hmm?” Doyoung asks, looking at Yuta in confusion. Doyoung knew Yuta had some kind of backstory, but he hadn’t wanted to pressure Yuta into telling him anything. Yuta sighs, sitting up against the headboard of the bed, dragging Doyoung up to sit beside him.

“I met NCT pretty soon after they had moved here. I moved to the city a year before them because I was running away from home. My dad is the CEO of Nakamoto Corp, the consulting agency that handles the finances of other big businesses. I started going to work with my dad when I was really young and fell in love with the corporate atmosphere, a constant buzz of activity. When I got older and started actually helping Dad with work, I loved balancing accounts and helping people rearrange their finances. But I didn’t like how my dad skimmed off the top of their budgets and took some of their money for himself. He was already being paid exorbitant fees for his services, so it was completely unnecessary. I graduated high school early and my dad wanted me to join the business, but I of course didn’t want that, so my mom helped run away. It’s not really running away I guess because she sends me money and my dad kind of knows where I am. He’s not really a bad father, but he can be very demanding, and I knew that if I stayed there I wouldn’t be able to say no to him. When I first got here I had nowhere to go. I spent the first few nights in a hotel, but I knew I needed to stop relying on my parents for everything. I kind of stumbled on the opening at Sun and Moon while browsing the supernatural side of Facebook. I applied and started working there, moving in with one of my coworkers. It had been a few months and things had finally settled down when one night this big group of rowdy boys walks in to the bar. I didn’t have any plans to start up a relationship, but I picked Hansol to be mine after seeing hin trip and fall on his face while staring at me. When I realized that I was falling hard for Hansol I knew I couldn’t be in a relationship with him unless I figured things out with my family, so I went back home to Japan to sort it out. I didn’t actually tell anyone about me leaving  except for my boss, so Hansol kind of freaked out. He thought I had left because we finally confessed and made out the night before. When I got to Japan I talked to my parents, agreed to finish university because that was really important to them, and signed a contract to never work against Nakamoto Corp or its affiliates. I also promised to visit twice a year and bring Hansol to meet them, but that was less business more family. When I got back here I met up with Hansol, we discussed our feelings, started dating, mated, and here we are! He still feels a bit like I’m going to leave him, which makes him freak out a little bit when I’m late or I don’t call for a long time. It’s the love for me in him but also the pack leader part of him. I’ve reassured him many times that I’m not going anywhere, so he knows how unfounded his fears are.” Yuta turns to Doyoung, making his final point. “See, they have the best intentions, but it’s in their nature to protect the ones they love. I will admit though, sometimes they go a bit overboard with you.”

“It’s because you and Hyuck have all this power and the wolves are freaking wolves, who are strong and fast and aggressive. What in the world does a bunny have to offer in a fight?” Doyoung gripes. Yuta smiles over at Doyoung.

“I think it’s time for you to really meet EXO.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know anything about EXO so I'm sorry if the characterization seems off!


	5. Chapter 5

Yuta leads Doyoung into the living room where the entire EXO pack is sitting on the couches chatting with Hansol, Johnny, and Jaehyun. Mark, Jeno, and Donghyuck were already in bed, protests quieted when EXO promised to tell them stories in the morning. When Doyoung enters the room he immediately felt the stares of the NCT pack on him, especially Jaehyun. Sehun also looks up from his perch on the armrest of an armchair and smiles, inviting Doyoung to sit next to him. Carefully avoiding Jaehyun’s eyes from across the circle, Doyoung sat down 

“So… Yuta told me I should talk to you?” Doyoung asks awkwardly, looking over at the other pack. Suho, the clear leader of EXO, smiles and nodds encouragingly.

“Sehun told you all about our history and most of what we do, traveling around and helping bunny communities across the nation. What he didn’t tell you is that we have occasionally taken in new members, training them so they would be able to protect and care for themselves, and also show people when they go back home how strong bunnies can really be.”

“But how does that even work? What methods do you use?” Doyoung leans forward, curious.

“Well, we as bunnies are naturally very high strung and high energy. This means we have incredibly fast reflexes, and we take a very short amount of time to process dangerous situations. Our prey animal nature ensures that we can find fifteen different ways to get out of a bad situation before a wolf even figures out one. We take these traits in were-bunnies and cultivate them. Unfortunately, our instincts tell us to run away rather than stay and fight. Because of this, we train our people hit fast and hit hard before running. Self-preservation is also a big thing within our community, so we had to be re-wired to think of the pack before ourselves. Change that self-preservation into a group preservation.”

“Ok…” Doyoung responds eyebrows furrowing, “but how does this involve me?”

Sehun huffs out a laugh and looks down at Doyoung from his perch on the armrest. “Don’t be dense Doyoung, you know exactly what we’re offering.”

“Yes Doyoung, we’re offering you a place in our pack.” Suho replies, Sehun smiling hopefully at Doyoung.

“I know we just met a few hours ago but I think you could add a lot to our pack and you joining could really benefit us both.” Doyoung gulps nervously, turning over the offer in his head. 

“You don’t have to give a response right now, you can sleep on it tonight.” Suho reassures.

“But we are leaving tomorrow so a response in the morning would be nice.” Sehun adds. Doyoung nods, excusing himself and heading back to his room to lay down and think. After half an hour, Yuta is back at his door, softly knocking and heading in to lay down next to Doyoung. 

“What are you thinking about?” Yuta asks.

“I’m not sure” Doyoung sighs, “I love it here and this is the first place that has really felt like home, but I can’t truly feel like I belong here until I’m on equal footing with every other member. They refuse to recognize that I’m my own person. They can’t just baby me all the time.”

Yuta sits up and turn to Doyoung. “In the months that I was separated from Hansol I was able to clear my mind and really consider who we were to each other and where I wanted our relationship to go. I thought that being thousands of miles away from him would keep him off my mind, but with each passing day the need to come back grew. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, and for us that was certainly true.” Yuta pauses, drawing his thoughts together. “What I’m trying to say is, if you feel the need to go, then go. We will always have a place for you here.” Yuta grins and shoves Doyoung. “Even if you leave you can’t get rid of us that easily.” Doyoung smiles and half-heartedly nudges Yuta back. 

“Thanks Yuta.”

“You’re welcome dumbass.” Doyoung fake gasps.

“Get out of my room!” Yuta prances out, laughing. A few minutes later Hansol, Johnny, Jaehyun, Mark, Jeno, and Donghyuck meekly enter the room, oddly all looking like kicked puppies. Jeno and Donghyuck immediately glue themselves to Doyoung’s sides, the rest of the members arranging themselves on the bed and around the room. 

“We don’t want you to leave, and we’re so sorry.” Jeno apologizes.

“But if you do feel the need we will support you and help you in any way you need.” Hansol interjects from his place in the desk chair. Nodding, Mark quietly adds, “Yeah hyung, we just want you to be happy.” 

“I  _ am _ happy.” Doyoung sighs, looking at each member in turn. “You all make me more happy than I’ve ever felt. But none of you understand. You don’t understand what it’s like to have an entire society of people look down on you just because of the circumstances of your birth. Do you know how many times I’ve heard customers talking shit about bunnies and then turning to me they say ‘oh but you’re an exception’? All of that negativity seeps into you and then you start feeling as if it’s true, you actually are scum of the earth. I just want to be strong enough to be able to overcome my own past. And training your body goes hand in hand with training your mind.”

“We may not be able to understand what you’ve had to deal with your entire life, but we do understand your need to strengthen yourself to ensure that your past won’t be able to hurt you anymore.” Johnny pipes up from the floor. “Like Yuta said, you’ll always have a home here.”

“Once a member of NCT, always a member of NCT.” Donghyuck mumbles, looking down. 

“I love you all so much, thank you for being there for me.” Doyoung says, tears forming behind his eyes. The room is quiet for a few moments except for the quiet sniffles of Doyoung and Donghyuck, and surprisingly Johnny.  _ What a giant softie _ Doyoung thinks fondly. 

“Alright sleepover in the movie room!” Donghyuck calls, jostling Doyoung in his rush to get up. All the members run downstairs to set up pillows and blankets. All except two. Doyoung finally turns to meet eyes with Jaehyun, who had been sitting on the floor, back against the wall the entire time. Jaehyun frowns, eyebrows drawing together. If it had been just a few months before, Doyoung would have been afraid that Jaehyun was mad at him. Now that he recognizes the faint glimmer in Jaehyun’s eyes, he knows this is Jaehyun’s way of trying not to cry. Doyoung sits patiently cross-legged on the bed, waiting for Jaehyun to speak first. “I’m so sorry” he finally gasps out, drawing his knees up and resting his elbows on them, face in his hands. “I said I would be there for you and protect you but I couldn’t.” 

“It’s ok.” Doyoung sighs, joining Jaehyun on the floor. Leaning against his shoulder, Doyoung adds wryly “It’s like you didn’t listen to anything I just said.” Jaehyun laughs wetly, bringing his head out of his hands. 

“Shutup.”

“When have I ever?”

“Ok you got me there.”

Doyoung pauses. “If… if you don’t want me to go…” he whispers. Jaehyun grabs Doyoung’s hand suddenly. 

“Yes, I would love nothing more than for you to stay with me, but I know we’ve got a lot to work through. There’s so much out there that the world has to offer you but you’ve been like three place your entire life. And two of those places mistreated you terribly.” Jaehyun and Doyoung both stare down at their hands, fidgeting. “Doyoung…. You’ve changed all of our lives so much. Hansol feels less pressure with you around taking care of the younger kids. Johnny loves having another opinion when we go on our conspiracy theory rants. And he practically cried when you took over cooking from him. We all practically cried from joy. I genuinely think you’re Yuta’s best friend, even though you two give each other so much shit. You two get each other in weird ways I could never understand. Mark is obsessed with your singing voice and perfect pitch, and even though he may brush it off a lot, he loves how much you dote on him. Jeno has always hated skinship unless it was from me, but he’s practically surgically attached to you. And Hyuck… Hyuck still can’t believe that you don’t hate him after what those witches did to you.”

“And you?”

“Me?”

“How have I changed your life?”

Jaehyun turns and Doyoung meets his eyes. Doyoung’s chest tightens, caught off guard by what he sees in Jaehyun’s eyes. Emotions wash over Doyoung as he sees Jaehyun’s fear, insecurity, protectiveness, sadness, anger, hopefulness, gentless, and… something Doyoung won’t address, can’t address now, right when he’s about to leave.  

“You’ve changed my life in every single way Doyoung.” 

Doyoung’s eyes water and he lets out a wet laugh, burying his face in Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Be quiet you big sappy dummy.” Jaehyun laughs back, wrapping his arm around Doyoung’s shoulder. 

“I’m going to miss you too.”

As if they were thinking the same thing, they both silently disentangle themselves from each other and stand up, heading out the door and downstairs to join the others. The rest of the NCT pack had already turned on the movie, the EXO pack having gone back to their hotel for the night. Jaehyun settles down on the floor next to Jeno, pulling Doyoung in between them. Doyoung wraps an arm around Jeno and pulls him close, while Jaehyun did the same to Doyoung. The pack seemed to sigh in contentment at the same time, settling into each other. As they watched the cliche teenage romcom that Donghyuck had suggested, Doyoung looked around the room, taking in each member, knowing it would be the last time he would see them for a while. Hansol and Yuta are thoroughly entangled together on one end of the couch, Hansol already asleep. Johnny sits on the other end of the couch with a faint smile on his lips, watching the popular boy confess to the “average” girl at prom, only to have her reject him and dance the night away with the best friend that had been there for her the entire time. Mark and Donghyuck lean against each other on the floor, backs against the couch. They had a blanket spread over them, and as the female lead goes in to kiss her best friend, Donghyuck suddenly leans towards Mark, puckered lips aiming for his cheek. Mark jerks away, putting a hand on Donghyuck’s face and lightly shoving him back. Donghyuck gasps, the picture of outrage, but Mark just rolls his eyes, returning back to the movie. As Donghyuck pouts, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, Mark sighs, looking at his best friend. Leaning over, Mark wraps an arm around Donghyuck, pulling him in to lean back against his chest. As Donghyuck snuggles closer, Doyoung smiles to himself, excited for their blossoming relationship. Looking down at Jeno, feeling Jaehyun’s arm around him, Doyoung swears his heart grows three sizes. The family he never even dreamed of, the family that he’s always wanted, was right in front of him.  _ I’ll miss you all so much.  _ Doyoung yawns, sighing and leaning closer to Jaehyun. Jaehyun runs his fingers through Doyoung’s hair, and Doyoung relaxes before closing his eyes and falling asleep. 

The next morning Doyoung awoke to his head laying on Jaehyun’s chest, Jaehyun’s breath gently ruffling his hair. 

“Doyoung” Yuta whispers, nudging him with his foot, “EXO is here.” Doyoung nods, moving to disentangle himself from Jaehyun’s arms. Jaehyun groans faintly, pulling Doyoung closer. 

“Jae” Doyoung whispers, shoving his arm, “get off.”

“Only to you baby” Jaehyun mutters back, sighing. Doyoung froze, mouth dropping open. Jaehyun’s eyes shot open and he sat up suddenly, Dyoung falling off his lap. 

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry!” Jaehyun stumbles over his words, panicked. Doyoung frowns at Jaehyun, then suddenly broke into laughter, doubling over. 

“Oh my gosh I did not expect that” Doyoung gasps out, wiping tears from his eyes. “That is the best going away present you could give me.” Doyoung took one look at Jaehyun’s bright red ears and face and burst into giggles again, hands covering his mouth. 

“What’s going on?” Jeno mutters from Doyoung’s other side, slowly stirring and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Nothing, nothing Jeno. Doyoung is about to leave and your brother said something to make him feel less sad, that’s all.” Yuta replies, glancing at Doyoung and Jaehyun in amusement. At that, Jeno quickly got up, waking up Mark and Donghyuck. The whole crew sadly heads upstairs, where Hansol and Johnny were already sitting with the EXO crew, chatting and eating breakfast. 

“Morning sleeping beauty!” Johnny jokes, clapping a very drowsy Mark on the shoulder. Mark just sighs and leans into his brother, reaching to pick a piece of bacon from Johnny’s plate. Suho smiles at the group, turning to Doyoung. 

“Have you made your decision?” 

Doyoung nods and bites his lip nervously. “Uhm, yeah. I’m coming with you guys.” Sehun grins. 

“Awesome! You’re gonna love it! And hate it! But mostly love it!” Doyoung nods shyly, sitting down to eat. When both packs finish with breakfast, Doyoung and Jaehyun head to Doyoung’s room to pack his stuff. Pulling out clothes and putting them into a suitcase Doyoung suddenly laughs. “Nothing in here is actually mine.” Jaehyun looks up in confusion. 

“What do you mean?”

“Everything was given to me by someone in the pack. Here’s your sweatpants, actually, a few pairs of your pants, Johnny’s flannel, Hansol’s sweatshirt, a pink t-shirt from Hyuck, a purple t-shirt from Hyuck, weird yellow glasses Mark said I’d look ‘totally sick’ in, some of Jeno’s shirts, and Yuta’s….boxers? I don’t actually know why I have those.” Jaehyun chuckles.

“You’ll have something to remind you of us every day.” 

Doyoung huffs and rolls his eyes. “I’ll already be thinking of you guys every day, dumbass.” As they finish up packing, they head into the living room, rolling Doyoung’s bag behind them. Suho takes the bag to the car, the rest of his pack trickling out behind him, giving the NCT pack a moment alone. Hansol goes to hug Doyoung first, muttering “You’ll always have a place with us.” Johnny goes next, adding “yeah, you’re a member of the pack. Forever.” Yuta grabs Doyoung next, pinching his sides as he hugs him and saying, “you better come back you little bitch.” Doyoung grins, “aww Yuta I didn’t realize you loved me that much!” Mark hugs Doyoung next, and Doyoung whispers in his ear “you better be in a happy relationship with a certain sun witch by the time I get back.” Mark pulls back and looks into Doyoung’s eyes, nodding very seriously. 

“He deserves the world and I plan on giving it to him.” 

Donghyuck falls into Doyoung’s arms with a dramatic sob. “My baby angel! My cinnamon apple!” He wails. 

“Shut up Hyuck it’s not like I’m dying.” 

Donghyuck nods and grins. “I know, but by the look on everyone’s faces you’d think we were going to a funeral.” 

Jeno frowns at Donghyuck and pulls Doyoung into a hug. “Hyuck is just trying to cover up how much he’ll miss you, hyung.” Doyoung sighs and leans his cheek against Jeno’s head. After a while Jaehyun pointedly coughs, and Doyoung and Jeno separate, Doyoung glaring at Jaehyun.

“Can I not hug my child?”

“Not when I’m waiting” and with that Doyoung is pulled into Jaehyun’s arms. Chest to chest, Doyoung felt their hearts beat together, merging in to one. Doyoung presses his nose into Jaehyun’s shoulder, breathing in his scent, committing it to memory. Jaehyun turns his head, shoving his nose into Doyoung’s hair, undoubtedly doing the same. “See you soon” Jaehyun whispers. Doyoung nods, and just when he was about to give in, Jaehyun let go. “It’s for the best.” Doyoung nods again, looking into each member’s eyes, seeing the tears and feeling his own. Quickly, he turns and walks outside, heading to the van and settling down next to Xiumin. Sehun turns around in the passenger seat to look at Doyoung reassuringly. 

“It’ll be ok, you’ll see them soon.” 

Doyoung nods and looks out the window as Suho starts the car. Doyoung watches as his pack members, his  _ family _ got smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing from view.  _ This isn’t goodbye.  _

 

**_One Year Later_ **

Jaehyun sticks his hands in his pockets, shivering slightly in the cold nighttime air.  _ Should’ve brought a jacket _ he thinks, looking up at the dark sky above him. Unfortunately, being in the middle of a city means that there was no stars to be seen, but Jaehyun can picture them himself. Jaehyun had taken to perusing through the astronomy books in the house, memorizing constellations. On nights like these, when he can’t seem to sleep, the young werewolf likes to leave the house, taking a bus farther into the city and walking around a while. Rather than being in the quiet house alone with his thoughts, the hustle and bustle of the city night life distracts him enough to where he can’t sink too deep into his mind. Running through the constellations in his head, Jaehyun doesn’t notice a pair of eyes watching him. It comes as a very sudden surprise when a pair of hands grab him, pulling him from the street into a nearby alleyway. Jaehyun gasps as he flies back into to wall, brick crumbing on impact. His attacker growls, stalking closer as Jaehyun growls in response, settling into his fighting stance. 

“What do you want?” Jaehyun asks, eyes glowing red. The attacker simply smiles, eyes glowing red in response, replying “Just itching for a fight.” Suddenly, the attacker rushes forward and pins Jaehyun to the wall by the neck, hand gripping Jaehyun’s throat. As Jaehyun scrabbles at the arm, fighting for breath, the chokehold disappears. Jaehyun slides down the wall, gasping for breath, eyes watering as he hears a faint  _ thud, _ his attacker falling down next to him, passed out cold. A hand comes into Jaehyun’s line of vision and Jaehyun grabs it, the man pulling him to his feet. Jaehyun’s eyes travel up his savior’s body slowly, realization washing over him as he finally meets the man’s eyes. 

“ _ Doyoung? _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've liked this so far! I feel like this chapter is a bit rushed, but I really want to bigger plot-line to get going. The next chapter will introduce you to A LOT of new characters, so get ready!


	6. Chapter 6

_ Previously _ : Jaehyun gasps as he flies back into to wall, brick crumbing on impact. His attacker growls, stalking closer as Jaehyun growls in response, settling into his fighting stance. 

“What do you want?” Jaehyun asks, eyes glowing red. The attacker simply smiles, eyes glowing red in response, replying “Just itching for a fight.” Suddenly, the attacker rushes forward and pins Jaehyun to the wall by the neck, hand gripping Jaehyun’s throat. As Jaehyun scrabbles at the arm, fighting for breath, the chokehold disappears. Jaehyun slides down the wall, gasping for breath, eyes watering as he hears a faint  _ thud, _ his attacker falling down next to him, passed out cold. A hand comes into Jaehyun’s line of vision and Jaehyun grabs it, the man pulling him to his feet. Jaehyun’s eyes travel up his savior’s body slowly, realization washing over him as he finally meets the man’s eyes. 

“ _ Doyoung? _ ”

 

Doyoung clears his throat uncomfortably, giving Jaehyun a hesitant smile.

“Hey Jae.”

Jaehyun moves towards Doyoung, reaching out, then stops suddenly, unsure. Doyoung coughs again and looks away, suddenly noticing the body on the ground. 

“Uhm, we should probably get out of here.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jaehyun nods, following after Doyoung. As they walk towards the bus stop, Jaehyun is reminded of a year ago, walking the same route, with the same person. The air wasn’t as tense then as it is now. 

“So…how are you?” Jaehyun asks, desperately trying to draw Doyoung into conversation. 

“Good! It’s been really cool traveling and training with the EXO guys.” Doyoung pauses and bites his lip, unsure. “It’s nice to be home though.” He draws out, hesitantly looking over at Jaehyun. Jaehyun’s mouth quirks, then his face slowly transforms into a full smile. _ Gosh I’ve missed those dimples. _ Doyoung thinks, sighing internally. Some of the awkwardness dissipates as Jaehyun nudges Doyoung’s arm.

“And how’s Sehun?” He teases, eyes crinkling. Doyoung rolls his eyes and shoves Jaehyun off the sidewalk in retaliation. Jaehyun’s eyes close and he gasps, holding his arm and faking an injury. 

“Wow you really have grown stronger!” Jaehyun laughs, Doyoung joining in. “Honestly though, you’re looking a lot more...defined.” Jaehyun adds, looking more and more awkward as the sentence goes on. Doyoung grins and flexes his arms proudly. 

“Thanks!” Doyoung pauses and then remembers Jaehyun’s question. “Sehun is doing fine. I swear I’ve never seen a man more in love with Suho.” Jaehyun raises his eyebrows, surprised.

“Really? I thought they might of had something but I wasn’t sure.”

“Yep, they finally got their shit together and started dating a few months ago.”

Jaehyun nods, “nice.” As they ride on the bus, Doyoung and Jaehyun continue to talk about the EXO pack, not going too deep because they knew Doyoung would have to re-hash it all with the rest of the NCT pack. As they get off the bus and start walking home, Jaehyun stops, grabbing Doyoung’s arm. As Doyoung looks over in confusion, Jaehyun sighs and pulls Doyoung into a hug. Doyoung gasps, tensing up, then relaxes, wrapping his arms around Jaehyun and leaning into him. They both pause in the moment, breathing in each other’s scent. As they slowly separate, Jaehyun leans over and grabs Doyoung’s hand. Doyoung looks at Jaehyun in surprise. 

“I haven’t seen you in a year. I’m not letting you go.” 

Looking around Jaheyun admires the trees lining the street. The same trees, the same street that they’ve walked so many times before.  _ I could probably walk this in my sleep, it’s so natu... _ Jaehyun pulls up short again, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and smacking himself on the forehead.

“I’m such an idiot.” Jaehyun groans out. Doyoung looks at him curiously, still holding his hand. Jaehyun sighs, turning to Doyoung. 

“We moved.” Jaehyun grumbles, looking back at the now distant bus stop in despair. Doyoung giggles, then bursts into laughter. 

“You moved? And you  _ forgot _ ?”

“Ok yes, I get it ‘Jaehyun’s an idiot.’ Can we go back the the bus stop now?”

“No, I think I need to sit in this moment a bit more. How long ago did you move?”

“Four months ago?”

“You’ve lived in a different house for  _ four months _ and you  _ forgot _ ?”

“You’re really not going to let this go, are you?” 

Doyoung sighs and nods, wiping tears from his eyes and pulling Jaehyun along behind him to the bus stop. 

“Why did you guys move?”

“We adopted some new people into the pack.”

Doyoung looks over in surprise. “How many?” 

“Five.”

“So our pack has  _ thirteen members _ ?” 

“Uhm… yeah I guess so.” 

“And how exactly did this happen?”

As they wait for the bus Jaehyun tells the story of the pack they like to call the “China line”. 

“There’s Kun, the leader, and also a healing witch. He’s mates with Sicheng, a were-bunny just like you. Sicheng has a younger brother the same age as Jeno and Hyuck named Renjun, who is also a bunny. Then there’s Lucas, a werewolf the same age as Mark, and finally Chenle, a clairvoyant witch.” 

“Oh a clairvoyant. That must be...annoying.”

“Yeah his favorite line is ‘I knew that was going to happen.’ So Kun and Chenle are cousins, Kun and Sicheng met in high school, where Renjun and Lucas also met. Lucas didn’t have the best home life, so Kun and Sicheng basically adopted him. Apparently Chenle was scrying one day and contacted Kun and told him they should come here. Something about a mismatched team like them needing their help. So they packed up and came here.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. The China line arrived here visited Hansol at work to convince him that we should move in together. I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall in the bank when Chenle burst in, leading the way to Hansol’s office. They did their witch mojo thing and showed him they’re trustworthy, so Hansol decided to go along with it. Chenle had known Hansol was going to accept so he bought a house beforehand that would fit all of us. Since Chenle’s parents are also clairvoyant, they have these huge sums of money from being able to predict the stock market and his dad is the CEO of a Chinese tech giant. Chenle has also been doing stocks since he was really young, so he has his own bank account with tons of money. Hansol came home, introduced us to the China line, and told us we were moving. Our rooms changed around too. It’s still Hansol and Yuta of course, and Mark and Donghyuck are rooming together, but now I room with Johnny, Jeno rooms with Renjun, Kun rooms with Sicheng, and Lucas rooms with Chenle. That last pairing might have been a mistake because they are the loudest people in the house.”

“Even louder than Donghyuck?”

“Even louder than Donghyuck. You’ll see. Or hear, I guess. There’s even a couple rooms left over, one of which Kun uses as his mini hospital room because no one actually wants to room by themselves. The house is pretty big, but Chenle insists it’s the perfect size.”

As they board the bus Jaehyun continues talking about the new pack members and how they’ve been assimilating into NCT, each taking up roles within the pack. Eventually the bus slowed to a stop in front of a gated neighborhood right on the outskirts of the city. As Doyoung and Jaehyun got off the bus and walked through the gates, Doyoung gaped up at the houses around him. Jaehyun chuckled at Doyoung’s amazed expression, and mentioned something about “Chenle’s parents wouldn’t have anything less for their little boy.” Walking up to the front of their new house Doyoung hears a high-pitched scream. The front door of the house burst open, Donghyuck racing out with Jeno and Mark following closely behind. Doyoung opens his arms and is tackled by the boys, falling onto the grass. Yuta appears, jumping forwards onto the pile and Johnny quickly joins, pushing the breath out of everyone with his weight. Hansol laughs, and he and Jaehyun get to work pulling the other members off so Hansol can get in for a hug. Sitting on the ground and smiling with the other members Doyoung ruffles Donghyuck’s now reddish brown hair with colorful streaks and Jeno’s light brown hair. 

“That’s new.” He comments, to which Jeno replies, “There’s a lot of new things around here.” At this, Doyoung notices five unfamiliar faces standing on the front porch. Doyoung stands and goes to meet them, extending a hand to the first man in line. 

“I’m Kun,” The man smiles, soft brown hair reflecting his calming aura. The next man steps up, smile bright like his golden blond hair, and introduces himself as Sicheng. Following Sicheng is Renjun, the fire in his eyes and in his pure black hair giving Doyoung hope for the future of strong bunnies. A tall puppy-like boy next to Renjun clumsily introduces himself as Lucas, eagerness emanating off of him. Lastly is a boy with oddly lime-green hair, who turns out to be Chenle. Chenle smiles proudly, turning to Renjun.

“See, I told you today was going to be an exciting day!”

“Chenle, you say that every day” Renjun huffs. Chenle frowns and tilts his chin up, looking every bit the aristocrat he is. 

“And every day I’m right.”

Doyoung chuckles turns to Hansol, saying “EXO should be by later to drop off my stuff. I hope you’re keeping your promise of me always having a place here.” Hansol grins and nods. 

“Of course! You even have your own room.” 

The pack collectively moves into the house, giving Doyoung a tour and speaking over each other in their haste to tell the funniest story for each room.

“And here Mark keeps on setting the fire alarm off burning the eggs.”

“That was one time Hyuck!” 

“Over here is where I beat Hyuck at Mario Kart.”

“Ok it’s not fair when you can actually see into the future.”

“Jaehyun caught Hansol and Yuta making out over here and screamed so loud we thought he was being attacked.”

“Yeah he sounded like a girl. Or Chenle.”

“Ok you guys can stop now.” Jaehyun interjected. Opening a door on the second floor, Jaehyun leads Doyoung inside. 

“Here’s your room!”

Doyoung gasps. It was a lot larger than his old room, and definitely bigger than the tents, campers, hotel rooms, and rooms of kind strangers that he had been staying in for the past year. There was a queen size bed in the middle, with a shelf above the bed adorned with pictures of Doyoung with the rest of the NCT pack that they had taken over the course of the six months that Doyoung had stayed with them. Pictures from the bar Doyoung had worked at, of Doyoung with dogs he and Jaehyun had met along their walks, a group photo at the carnival, and selfies that Donghyuck, Jeno, or Jaehyun would pull him into at random times. Along the wall there was a bookshelf filled with old textbooks that no one used anymore, books that Johnny or Jaehyun found interesting, and even more photos. Doyoung turned back to the group, tears filling his eyes.

“This is amazing, thank you so much!”

Jaehyun grins, asking “can you tell we saved it for you?”

Doyoung nods and smiles, turning and going to the bookshelf to examine the books and photos. Running his fingers over the spines of the books, Doyoung reads over the book titles. “Mathematical Theory,” “The Origins of Middle Eastern Religions,” “Geography for Dummies,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” "Observatory of 썸,” the list goes on. As Doyoung is about to pull a book off the shelf, the doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of EXO. 

“C’mon nerd” Yuta slings an arm around Doyoung’s shoulder. “You’ll have plenty of time to read later.” 

The whole pack goes down, Doyoung muttering about Yuta shadowing his father at a financial company since he was a baby, so how was Doyoung the nerd? The younger kids clamber over each other in a rush to hear the amazing stories EXO is bound to tell. After EXO gives Doyoung his bags both packs sit around the living room, telling each other of the events that past year. Jaehyun gazes at Doyoung as Doyoung excitedly tells stories of his training, finding other groups of bunnies, helping them, or helping other supernaturals in general. Eyes glowing, Doyoung recounts accidentally knocking Sehun out, a little ten year old girl kicking through a board, and the family that changed an entire town’s mindset just by setting an example of strength and persistence. The NCT pack tells stories of their own, Mark blushing as Donghyuck imitates how nervous Mark was while asking Donghyuck out on a date. Donghyuck is the one blushing in the end though because Mark leans over and plants an unexpected kiss on Donghyuck’s cheek in front of everyone. Lay chats happily with the China line, comfortable in his own language. Lucas started teaching Johnny some Thai, so they tell stories of mistranslations and how the elderly owner of the Thai restaurant won’t let Johnny back into the store because of what Lucas told Johnny to tell her. As the younger kids, including Lucas and Mark, go to bed, the atmosphere of the living room darkens. 

“There’s another reason we came here today, besides taking Doyoung back home.” Suho says, a grave look coming over his face. “We’ve heard rumors during our travels we think will greatly affect you all.” Hansol nods, moving to the edge of his seat and leaning forward, clasping his hands together. “You know back in the old days when supernaturals ran amok and the humans lived in fear, the Lee vampire clan was the pinnacle of supernatural royalty. Whatever they said, goes, whoever they wanted, they got. Well, when the humans came together and fought back, the Lee clan was kicked from their thrones, and over time the humans just forgot about supernaturals. We became the stuff of folklore and legends, too amazing to be reality. The Lee clan may still be rich and famous, they just don’t have their ultimate power anymore. Unfortunately, to the head of the Lee clan, Chin Hwa, power is everything. And he wants that power back. We’ve heard they’re recruiting vampires across the nation, even across the world, to rise up and take power again.”

Hansol groans, leaning back into the couch cushions. “Just our luck the Lee clan happens to be headquartered right here in the city.” Suho nods back in confirmation. 

“We need to continue our travels, but if we hear any more information, we’ll send it your way. In the meantime, you all should keep tabs on what’s happening here in the city, and you should probably start preparing yourself in case you’re called to fight.”  

The EXO pack gets up to leave hugging everyone goodbye. “Thank you so much hyung.” Hansol says, shaking Suho’s hand, his eyes flashing alpha silver in respect. Doyoung waves to EXO as their van pulls away, and then turns to sit in the living room with his pack.

Hansol sighs. “Until we get solid evidence of what the Lee clan is doing, we really can’t gather people against them. They’re incredibly powerful and if they got so much as a hint of us recruiting our own people, they would destroy us. All we can do now is discreetly gather information and hope for something good to fall into our lap.” At this, the meeting adjourns, everyone heading upstairs to go to bed. As Doyoung stops at his door, he feels a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m glad your back” Jaehyun murmurs, before heading into his room with Johnny. Entering his room and falling into bed Doyoung sighs and stares up at the ceiling.  _ Finally home. _

 

A few months pass and Doyoung falls back into a comfortable routine with NCT, starting work again. There are a few changes that Doyoung does have to adjust to, like cooking with Kun instead of Jaehyun, and building up immunity to Chenle’s dolphin-like laugh. Even though Doyoung misses cooking with Jaehyun, he appreciates having someone who actually knows what he’s doing in the kitchen. Doyoung quickly becomes close with the China line, bonding with Kun over being a mother, doting over Sicheng, Lucas, and Chenle, and Renjun becoming Doyoung’s sass protégé. Doyoung discovers new things about the China line each day, and they constantly amaze him. Lucas, in all of his clumsiness, is actually incredibly smart and knows five languages. His comedic timing is also impeccable. Even though Chenle grew up in the lap of luxury, he’s the first to encourage the other members when they’re feeling down or notice and compliment their hard work. Kun is amazing at magic tricks, without using his actual magic powers at all, and Sicheng hates skinship unless he himself initiates it. Renjun is unexpectedly violent, but Jeno still looks at him with stars in his eyes, and when Jeno isn’t looking, Renjun gazes at him in the same way. There’s new things to learn about the original pack, like how Mark and Donghyuck still basically act the same, but Mark doesn’t push Donghyuck away anymore when Donghyuck initiates skinship, and sometimes Mark even reciprocates it. Yuta has an odd affectionate streak for Sicheng, causing Hansol to get a bit huffy sometimes. When Yuta gets too touchy Sicheng runs and hides behind Jaehyun, who has turned out to be his closest friend in the pack. Sicheng, in retaliation, will sometimes even initiate skinship with Doyoung, just to see Yuta’s face grow red. Doyoung is just happy to see Jaehyun making friends with someone his own age. Lucas brings out Johnny’s inner child, and they’re planning a trip to Thailand to see Ten’s hometown and connect Johnny to his deceased mate. Jaehyun found some peace in reconnecting with his parents, forming a tentative friendship that seemed more like peers rather than parents and child. And Jeno, sweet Jeno, found his foil and friend in the scrappy Renjun, even though they are both too shy to act on their feelings.

As their time together continues, the youngest members of the pack are told of the rumors about the Lee clan, and they make an effort to find out more information. The news trickles in slowly, with Doyoung telling of conversations he overhears at the bar and their few friends throughout the supernatural community notifying them of information whenever they hear it. Even though the amount of missing humans is increasing significantly every day, there’s never concrete evidence to tie it to the Lee clan. Eventually, a lot of the leads go cold and NCT is close to giving up. One day, five months after Doyoung returned home, the pack is sitting around the dinner table discussing their day. It is already dark outside, and it had been raining all day, so all the members are glad to be home in the warmth and comfort of their family. Mark and Donghyuck are in the middle of describing the song they are writing together when thunder cracks and the lights flicker in the dining room. Doyoung hears a gasp across the table and he turns to see Chenle sit up straight rigidly, frozen in place. Staring into the distance Chenle’s eyes flush completely black, the dimmed lights casting an eerie glow on his face. An unnatural stillness lays over Chenle, his bright energy snuffed out. Suddenly, just as quickly as it started, the episode ends, Chenle’s eyes closing and his forehead dropping forwards, Lucas quickly catching his head so it won’t drop into his food. The lights return to full brightness and Chenle shudders, raising his head and looking around the table. In that moment Doyoung no longer saw a powerful witch. Instead he saw a scared little boy, face pale and shoulders too small for the amount of responsibility placed on them. Lucas wraps his arm around Chenle while Kun, on Chenle’s other side, grabs his hand. Kun leans over and murmurs reassurances to Chenle in Chinese as Chenle’s breathing slows down, color returning to his face. As Chenle straightens up, Lucas asks a question in Chinese and Chenle nods firmly, looking over at Hansol. 

“I saw…” Chenle starts out quietly, voice gaining confidence as he continues, “I saw red. Red hair, red clothes, red floors. Blood on marble tiles. Blood dripping from claws, from fangs. Bonds mending and breaking. A flash of light in the midst of darkness. New arrivals and old wounds reopening. Magic whirling around like a blanket of dandelion seeds. And I heard a voice, deep and dark, coming out of all the chaos saying ‘ _ a war is not coming. It is here _ ’.” Chenle leans back into his chair, sighing in relief, seeming lighter now that he lifted some of the weight of the vision off of himself. As the members of the pack process this information, the sound of the doorbell rings out in the silence. Everyone jumps, tensing, and Yuta laughs. 

“You all are ridiculous. I’m going to go get that.”

As he heads to the door the pack follows behind him, curious about the newcomer. Who would be out in the rain so late at night? Yuta opens the door with Hansol standing right behind him and thunder rumbles, sending a shock through the pack. As Yuta turns to the side, lightning flashes, illuminating the doorway. The pack is greeted with the sight of a bright red haired man, fierce eyes large and doll-like, but jawline sharp enough to cut glass. He is drenched, clothes dripping onto the front porch. What really surprises the pack is not his disheveled look, but what he is holding in his arms. The red-haired man is holding another unconscious smaller man bridal style, blood dripping from his black undercut and over the red-haired man’s arms and shoulder. For a moment, the pack merely stares, startled again as Hansol’s voice suddenly rings out. 

“ _ Lee Taeyong? _ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all.... I'm SO EXCITED for chapter 7!!!!!!!!! I wrote part of chapter 7 before I wrote anything at all about this fic in a sudden burst of inspiration while I was in the shower. Get PUMPED kids!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am posting this a day after I posted chapter 6. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

The red haired man’s eyes soften, growing desperate. “Please help” he gasps out, looking at Hansol imploringly. Hansol nods and motions for him to enter the house, Kun coming forward to lead Taeyong to the sick room. The pack starts to follow, but Hansol stops them, giving orders to stay in the living room. Since the sick room is off of the entryway and across from living room, the entire pack is on the edge of their seats, leaning to see into the room where Kun is examining his patient. Kun suddenly turns and glares at Taeyong, who is standing in the corner of the room. 

“Leave. Your nervous energy is distracting me.”

Hansol leads Taeyong out of the room, Taeyong stopping in the doorway and looking forlornly back to the bed where his friend is lying. Kun huffs and rolls his eyes.

“He’ll be fine, just let me do my job.” 

Hansol tugs Taeyong’s arm again, and closes the door behind them, turning to the pack

sitting in the living room. Taeyong looks nervously at the men sitting on the couches and clasps his hands together, seemingly much smaller without his fierce aura protecting him and his friend. Leading Taeyong into the living room, Hansol takes in the looks of confusion. 

“This is Lee Taeyong, yes, of the Lee clan. In the room over there is Moon Taeil, also a part of the Lee clan, his family have been bodyguards for the Lees for hundreds of years.”

“Why is he here though?” Johnny asks, glaring at Taeyong from his place on the end of the couch. Hansol opens his mouth, but Taeyong steps forwards and answers for himself. 

“The NCT pack has become known in the supernatural community for being unexpectedly kind and caring for people not only within their pack, but outside of it too. When Taeil was attacked I knew this would be the only place to go because” Taeyong pauses, looking back at the sickroom, “because my father was the one who attacked him. No one would dare go against my father except for you guys.” 

“Why would your father attack someone who has been a part of your family for so long, who has been protecting you since you were a baby?” Yuta asks, eyebrows knitting together. Taeyong hesitates again, looking around the room. 

“We can’t help unless you tell us the truth.” Hansol gently prods. The vampire nods, making up his mind.

“My father knows I’m in love with Taeil so when I refused to join him in his deranged plan to take over the world he had Taeil beaten.” The pack gasps. Doyoung had known that the cruelty of this man knew no bounds, but to attack someone who he had known for so long? A member of his own family? Unthinkable. Taeyong continues. “What my father didn’t know was that Taeil and I had recently mated. He planned on delivering the injured Taeil on my doorstep, but since I was able to feel the beating as it was happening and could pinpoint his exact location, I was able to get Taeil and escape. I beat up the guards but when we got out of the house Taeil’s body couldn’t stand the injuries anymore and he fainted. I carried him the rest of the way here. Thank goodness there’s no one out at this time of night or we would have gotten the cops called on us.”

“And why should we trust you?” Johnny frowns.

“We can trust him.” Chenle reassures, looking at Taeyong with interest. “He was in my vision. He’s gonna help us.”

Johnny nods grudgingly and leans back, frown lessening slightly. 

“I guess we should do introductions.” Hansol starts, adding “I’m Ji Hansol, of Nakamoto Yuta.” Each person around the living room introduces themselves to Taeyong, standing up and shaking his hand. Doyoung is closest, so he starts, Jaehyun next, then Yuta, who stands and says “Nakamoto Yuta, of Ji Hansol.” The line continues, when it reaches Sicheng he stands and says “Dong Sicheng, of Qian Kun.” Taeyong hesitates when he reaches Johnny, a bit guarded. Johnny’s apparent aversion to him is still fresh. Johnny just stands and also shakes Taeyong’s hand, pausing deep in though and looking at the shorter man. Making a decision, Johnny reaches up, pulling his shirt collar aside and exposing his mate mark. “Seo Youngho, of Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. You can call me Johnny.” Taeyong’s eyes soften, gazing at the tall werewolf in understanding. 

“I’m so sorry for what my uncle did.” Taeyong bows deeply, straightening back up before he continues. “I didn’t see Ten very often but he was such a bright light at family gatherings. When I heard the news of his passing the only thing stopping me from going and killing my uncle was Taeil telling me to wait. Biding our time and waiting to hit our family in a way that would take down him and my father is a much better course of action.”

Johnny nods in acknowledgement, sitting back down and relaxing. The door to the sick room opens and everyone’s heads snap to look at Kun, who smiles in reassurance.

“He’s going to be ok. We just need blood. Like, a lot of blood.”

Taeyong sighs in relief, almost collapsing on the couch. Pulling out his phone, he says “I have a few blood dealers that’ll deliver and not ask questions. One of you should call though, I don’t want to take a chance of them telling my dad.” Hansol nods, taking the phone number and calling the dealer, and within half an hour there is a knock on the door. Taeyong goes to hide in the sick room while Hansol opens up the door to a human wearing hospital scrubs and holding a container filled with bags of blood. Without saying anything they exchange money and Hansol takes the container. As Hansol is closing the door, the human pipes up. “Tell Taeyong that Taeil’s not the only vampire he needs to protect in that household.” With that, he turns around and leaves, disappearing into the night. Kun takes the container into the sick room and Taeyong emerges, face pale. “No” he mutters to himself, “father would never…” 

“I think we’ve established that whatever you think your father wouldn’t do, he most definitely would.” Johnny says, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “So what’s up?”

“My younger brother. He’s still back at the house.” Taeyong sighs, dropping his head into his hands. “I have to go back.” Suddenly there is a rustling behind Taeyong and the pack turns to the sick room door as they hear a “No.” Taeil appears, drinking from a bag of blood, color returning to his face and his injuries closing up before their eyes. “If you go back they will kill you. I’m not letting that happen.” Taeyong turns to Taeil, frowning.

“If I don’t go back then they’ll kill Jisung!”

“Yes. That’s why I’m coming with you.”

“You’re still healing, you’re in no shape to go fight a horde of vampires.”

“And you think you can really take them all by yourself?”

“I can sure try!”

Doyoung interrupts, “Why don’t we go together?”

Taeyong and Taeil turn to him in surprise, suddenly remembering there was other people in the room.

“Oh no, we can’t expect you do do that,” Taeyong refuses, “You’re already putting yourselves in so much danger just keeping us here.”

“From the way that Johnny is looking at Taeil right now, I’m pretty sure he’s already adopted him.” Jaehyun says from behind Doyoung, laughing slightly. Johnny looks over guiltily, replying “He’s tiny and cute. Like a little plushie.” Taeil glares at Johnny and crosses his arms. “I am seven hundred years old and I know hundreds of different ways to dismember a man.” Kun rolls his eyes and takes Taeil’s arm. “Yeah ok killer, let’s lay down for a bit. You’re not fully healed yet.” Taeil frowns at Kun, “one moment,” and turns to Taeyong. Leaning in Taeil murmurs “I love you” and pecks him on the lips, causing Taeyong to flush red in surprise and embarrassment. As Taeil allows Kun to pull him back into the room, Taeyong gazes at his mate in adoration. Yuta coughs pointedly from the side, rolling his eyes. “Alright so are we going to create a plan or what?” Hansol looks over at the kitsune, raising his eyebrows. “I don’t know what you’re rolling your eyes at Yuta. If I don’t tell you I love you every morning and every night, with an ‘I love you’ text during my lunch break, you give me the cold shoulder.” 

Leading the pack into the dining room, they all take their places around the table, Hansol at the head. “If we’re going to do this, we need to first ensure that our house is protected. Once we get Jisung out, the Lee clan will come after us with all they have.” Donghyuck leans forward, “Chenle, Kun, and I can put protection spells on the house.”

“I know you three are powerful, but will that be enough?”

Donghyuck looks at the table, frowning in concentration. “I made some friends online that live in our city. They’re really powerful witch brothers. They’d love to help us. Actually, they’ve wanted to meet up for a long time.”

“Are you sure they can be trusted?” Yuta asks. “We already have a pack of thirteen, and with Taeil and Taeyong added in we have fifteen. Would adding two more people be safe?” Taeyong looks at Yuta in surprise. 

“We’re in your pack?”

“Yeah, we’ve got big hearts for strays, especially ones that show up pathetically on our doorstep.” Doyoung pipes up. Taeyong frowns at Doyoung’s teasing grin. 

“Alright kids, back to me” Donghyuck says. “Yes they can be trusted. I’ve been talking to them for a few years now, first over twitter and them over skype. Mark has seen them too.” Mark nods, “they’re reliable.”

“Alright” Hansol agrees. “Just make sure they know they’re putting their lives on the line for us.” Donghyuck nods, standing up and pulling out his phone to call the boys. As he leaves, Kun enters, reassuring the pack that Taeil is asleep. Sitting down at the table next to Sicheng Kun continues “I overheard what you guys are planning. We’re going to need at least a week to prepare our potions and spells for protection.” Sicheng nods, continuing “We also need to train to deal with vampires. Incredibly strong, incredibly fast, and widely known as the most lethal predators on the planet, this isn’t going to be a walk in the park. I’ve heard that they’ve been recruiting witches too, so we’ll have to be ready for anything.”

Hansol nods. “Let’s plan to get Jisung in eleven days. Kun, Hyuck, Chenle, and Hyuck’s friends will stay back here, continuing to cast spells. Doyoung, Sicheng, Lucas, Mark, Renjun, Jeno, you all need to stay here too and protect the witches in case some of the Lees get here before we get back. That leaves Yuta, Taeil, Taeyong, Johnny, Jaehyun, and I to get Jisung.” 

Doyoung frowns. “I’m coming with you.” Hansol opens his mouth, “Doyou-” “No Hansol, I’ve been training every day and every night for the past year. Have any of you actually fought against a vampire? I have. And I won. EXO prepared me for this the moment they heard of what the Lees were doing.” 

Jaehyun nods across the table from Doyoung. “C’mon Hansol. We all know he’s ready for this.” Yuta leans over from Hansol’s right side and places a hand on his arm. “It’s time you start trusting him.” Hansol looks at Yuta, then Doyoung. After a breath, he nods. “Alright Doyoung, you’re coming with us.” Donghyuck re-enters the room and sits down in his chair. “My friends, Jungwoo and Jaemin, are in. They’ll get here tomorrow morning.” After debriefing Donghyuck, the meeting adjourns and everyone heads back to their rooms for a good night’s sleep to prepare for the upcoming training. As Doyoung and Jaehyun lag behind, Doyoung turns to Jaehyun. 

“Thank you for standing up for me.”

Jaehyun smiles and gently bumps Doyoung with his shoulder. “How are we supposed to see all of you new skills if you can’t ever show them off?”

Doyoung sighs in exasperation, “That’s what I’ve been  _ saying _ !” Jaehyun chuckles, bidding Doyoung goodnight at his doorway.

 

The next week is filled with training. The pack is separated into two teams, with team leaders. Kun leads the team of witches, not only helping with the protection sells but also teaching them combat magic. Jungwoo and Jaemin prove to be essential to the team, with Jungwoo being well versed in a variety of different spells and Jaemin having already created an array of spell bombs. Doyoung and Taeyong, with considerable help from Taeil, lead the team of weres, training them on how to fight vampires. Doyoung and Taeyong also have to create the schedules, working around almost everyone in the pack having either a full time or a part time job. Doyoung actually quits bartending to focus entirely on training the other members. The pack continually surprises him with their level of skill and quick learning ability. Most of them have some bit of background training to fight against vampires. Hansol had some previous training, so Taeil worked with him directly, refining his skills. Yuta soon joins them, due to the fact that his father made him train in various styles of combat from a young age and he has the added advantage of using his magic. Johnny was able to draw on past experiences of Ten teaching him how to fight vampires. They both knew that when Ten’s father found out their friendship was deeper than two classmates, he might come after them, so Ten took time to prepare Johnny incase a situation were to arise. Mark had occasionally joined in when Ten taught Johnny how to fight a vampire, wanting to be able to help if worse came to worst. Jaehyun turns out to be a methodical fighter, remembering each move that Doyoung shows him and practicing relentlessly until he executes them with precision and ease. Sicheng and Renjun catch on easily, their Chinese dance background providing them stamina and elegance when they fight. Lucas is a bulldozer, wrecking everything in his path. It’s clumsy, but effective. With Taeyong’s and Doyoung’s guidance, the pack steadily improves.  

Even though Doyoung and Taeyong bicker a lot over...well, everything, they find themselves creating a genuine friendship. Between cooking and training together, they bond over their innate need to protect everyone in the pack and their frustration over how impossibly clumsy Lucas and Johnny are. As they watch Johnny trip over grass, Lucas laugh, and then proceed to trip and fall on himself, they sigh in unison. “At least they’re eager to learn.” Doyoung mutters, Taeyong nodding in agreement. Jungwoo chooses that moment to walk outside right when Lucas is getting up, and Lucas falls again, distracted. Giggling, Jungwoo walks over and helps the blushing Lucas up, dusting off his clothes. Jungwoo seems very intent on brushing the dirt off of Lucas’s chest and stomach area. “Alright we’re done for the day.” Taeyong calls out, turning and heading inside. Doyoung, Johnny, Lucas, and Jungwoo follow, Doyoung heading into the kitchen with Taeyong while the rest head to different places in the house. Kun is already in the kitchen, preparing for dinner, so Doyoung and Taeyong get to work beside him. The only noise in the room are the clinks of kitchenware and the simmer of food on the stove. Doyoung breaths deeply, feeling peace fill him as he enters his element. All three men revel in the silence, unwinding after a long day of hard work. After an hour, there’s finally enough food for all seventeen men, and Kun asks Chenle to call everyone down for supper. Jeno, Renjun, and Jaemin work together to set the table, and everyone sits down to dig in to their food. Chatter fills the room, each person turning to their neighbors and talking about their day. Jaehyun tells Doyoung and Sicheng of a client he had at the repair shop who, after they fixed her A/C system, came back the next day accusing them of rigging her car so it blew cold air on her feet. They checked the settings, showing her the unit was set to cold and the vent on the floor was open. Jaehyun went into great detail describing her huffing and puffing, leaving Doyoung and Sicheng in stitches. As he looks around the table smiling at his huge family, Doyoung notices Chenle, head down, poking at his food. Even surrounded by people the small boy looks incredibly lonely. Donghyuck is on one side of him, having a heated debate with Mark. Renjun is on the other side, giggling with Jeno over something Jaemin said. Doyoung pins Renjun with a glare, knowing his bunny sense would be keen enough to notice. Sure enough, Renjun shivers uncomfortably, looking over at Doyoung. Tilting his head, Renjun is the picture of confusion as Doyoung nods towards Chenle. Raising his eyebrows, Renjun finally turns and notices the isolation that permeates Chenle’s aura. Slinging an arm around Chenle, Renjun leans over and hits Donghyuck on the arm, teasing him over something Doyoung can’t hear. Donghyuck turns and throws out a comeback, looking to Chenle for backup. Chenle adds something that causes both Renjun and Donghyuck to look at him in amazement, and all three of them fall into a teasing argument. Satisfied, Doyoung leans back and glances over at Jaehyun. Jaehyun smiles and winks, having seen the entire interaction. 

As dinner settles down the men start looking to Hansol, waiting for his nightly request for each team leader to give their report. Kun goes first, giving an overview of their progress and how much each witch has improved, highlighting particular skills he know will be important. Doyoung and Taeyong do the same for their team, and Hansol smiles, satisfied. “We’ve got four days left, and I’m so proud of how far you guys have come within the past week.” “Fighting haeyadwae!” Lucas yells, the pack echoing back. 

The next four days are a blur, and suddenly it’s the morning of D-Day. Doyoung wakes up early, stomach roiling in anticipation. He walks downstairs and into the kitchen, greeted with the sight of Taeyong cooking madly, Taeil sitting and observing close by. Greeting Doyoung, Taeil yawns, gazing at Taeyong fondly. “I’m just here to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.” Hansol and Yuta enter a few minutes after Doyoung, seemingly fully awake, looking at the display of food in appreciation. Jaehyun and Johnny enter next, each grabbing a place and serving themselves. Jaehyun tiredly smiles over at Doyoung from his place at the table, running a hand through his hair. Kun and Sicheng stumble in, half of Sicheng’s hair sticking up and the other half flattened to his head. As Sicheng grabs two plates, Kun combs lovingly through Sicheng’s hair, fixing it into place. Mark and Donghyuck walk in, holding hands  and leaning on each other, while Lucas carries in a drowsy Chenle on his back. Jungwoo and Jaemin walk in bright eyed and cheery, while Jaemin tugs the grumbling duo of Renjun and Jeno behind him. As everyone sits down to eat the breakfast Taeyong made entirely by himself, Hansol goes over the plan yet again. 

“For the team going to the house, we start at the back of the woods area, moving towards the house as night falls. Once we get to the edge of the woods, we take the invisibility potions Jungwoo made and spread out, going as fast as we can across the yard, meeting up at the back of the house by the hidden door Taeil showed us on the blueprints he stole. We get inside, moving through the secret hallways until we get to Jisung’s room, where he’s most likely locked up. The only place in the house where we will be out in the open is right when we get past the secret door, because it opens straight into the ballroom. We have to get through the ballroom into the library where we’ll find the entrance to the secret hallways. From there it’s up three flights of stairs and busting Jisung out. Once we get to the edge of the woods it should be smooth sailing. The team back at the house, meanwhile, will prep for the backlash from the Lees and keep watch.” The pack nods, digging into their food. It’s uncharacteristically quiet, but no one seems to notice, mulling over the events that are about to happen. The day seems to drag on, the weres outside sparring while the witches spread out in the living and dining room, preparing their potions. Finally it’s six o’clock, and Hansol, Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, and Jaehyun are in the living room, strapping their weapons to their chests and sides, Jungwoo handing them their invisibility potions. “Now remember” Jungwoo cautions, “these will only last for around five minutes, so you really have to move fast.” Everyone nods, heading outside and climbing into the van. The members of the pack not accompanying them stand on the porch, waving goodbye and wishing them good luck. Doyoung settles next Jaehyun, leg nervously bouncing. Jaehyun squeezes Doyoung’s leg reassuringly, murmuring “Don’t worry. You trained us well. We’ll be fine.” 

“It’s not just that.” Doyoung quietly replies. “It’s… it’s the woods.” Jaehyun’s eyebrows raise in realization, and he nods slowly. 

“I’ll be right by you the whole time. You can do this.” 

They arrive in a small parking lot with a trail leading away from it just as the sun is setting. Getting out of the car, Doyoung stares into the woods. What should have been beautiful at twilight seemed threatening, shadows growing longer, creeping towards him like fingers. Doyoung shivers and suddenly there’s a warm hand in his, squeezing tightly. Doyoung looks over at Jaehyun, while Jaehyun seems slightly surprised.

“Have you grown taller?”

Doyoung lets out a laugh and shrugs, looking back at the woods. “I just never stood up straight.” Everyone checks their weapons and then moves forwards as one, spreading out through the foliage. It’s a mile until they reach the edge where the Lee’s manicured lawn meets the scraggly vegetation. As everyone reaches for their potions Taeyong holds out a hand.

“There may not be a fence but this place is spelled out the ass. Jungwoo said the potion should hide us from both the naked and the magical eye, but be careful all the same.”

Each pack member nods, knocking back the potion and watching as the others disappear. At Hansol’s quiet “go” they rush forward, racing towards the house. The yard seems huge, endless, but suddenly the vines that hide the secret door are right in front of Doyoung, and it swings open before him, held by an unseen Yuta. The pack tumbles in a small room, gasping and slowly becoming visible. “How did you get here so fast?” Doyoung asks, looking up at Yuta from his place on the ground. Yuta shrugs and helps him up. “I used to play soccer.” The door swings shut behind Yuta, plunging them into darkness. The pack hears a faint sizzle and Yuta’s hand lights up, a glowing ball swirling around. Doyoung gasps and comes closer, seeing Yuta’s magical power for the first time. Yuta smirks and heads towards the door, Hansol opening it up and going out first. “Examine me later. Let’s get out of here first.” As they enter the ballroom Doyoung’s breath is pushed out of him, and he almost falls to the floor. Yuta’s hand flies to his chest, eyes widening and looking over at Doyoung. As each pack member exits the closet, they all have the same reaction, looking at each other in confusion. 

“Shit” Taeil curses. “They’ve got more witches than we thought.” Taeil and Taeyong look at each other. “They know we’re here. They’re coming.”

The men looked around at each other, eyes slowly turning red, claws and fangs creeping out, preparing for the impending attack. Wisps of electric magic flew around Yuta, crackling into nine large tails behind him. Doyoung looks down and fiddles with his knives, making sure they were secure and at the ready, glancing up only when he heard a confused “Johnny?” from Hansol. Unlike the others, Johnny was standing stock still, eyes their normal brown, rubbing the juncture where his shoulder meets his neck. The werewolf has his nose up in the air, sniffing for something no one else could detect. Before anyone could get a question out, they heard the door to the room bang open, and vampires start to pour in. Like a light switch, Johnny’s eyes flick to red, claws shooting out to meet the incoming wave. Doyoung could only watch in shock as the fun and dorky Johnny he knew is replaced by what could only be described as an animalistic machine. Johnny meets the vampires, disemboweling two at a time, turning and ripping off the head of another in one swipe. Doyoung was thrown back into action when a vampire charges towards him, but Doyoung quickly disposes of him with a stab to the heart. Hansol, Taeyong, Taeil, Yuta, and Jaehyun were all fighting hard against the vampires, but by the time one of them downed a vampire, Johnny had disposed of four. They could only watch and pick off the ones that Johnny hadn’t fully killed, and soon there was only one small dark haired vampire left. He stood at the back of the room, staring Johnny straight in the eye, challenging him. Suddenly they moved as one, running towards each other, clashing in mid air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ Protectprotectprotectprotect  _ was the only thing running through Johnny’s brain as the vampires spill into the room. His gaze fills with a red haze as he moves on instinct, running towards the enemy and reaching out with his claws. He slices through the vampires like butter, only knowing that  _ they hurt my friends they hurt my family they hurt my PACK and they will PAY.  _ Johnny didn’t even feel the blood splattering across his face, and couldn’t find an ounce of remorse as he clawes stomachs and snaps necks. Spinning, Johnny looks for his next victim, and stills as he realizes there was none left. As Johnny stands in the middle of the room, surrounded by the rapidly decaying bodies of the fallen, his only focus was on the last vampire. Crimson meets crimson as they look into each other's eyes, and that familiar sweet scent that had been tickling at Johnny’s nose since they first arrived returns in full force, assaulting his senses. Johnny feels a shift in the air as the small vampire moves towards him, and on instinct Johnny lunges forward, meeting him in mid air, landing on top of him, legs caging him on either side, left hand next to the vampire’s head, right reaching towards his face

And suddenly brown was looking into brown, Johnny was back, fingers tracing the lines he knew so well.  _ There _ was the thin upper lip and fuller lower, so perfect for pouting.  _ There  _ were the full cheeks and the soft jaw,  _ there  _ was the pert nose, begging to be kissed.  _ There  _ were the sultry slanted eyes, glowing in the way that they did for Johnny, and only for Johnny. “Ten?” Johnny whispers, hope threading through his voice. Hope that he thought was long gone, hope that this was  _ it _ . After being fucked over so many times in life maybe he would finally be able to get his happy ending. “Johnny?” the small vampire gasps back, and that was all the confirmation Johnny needs to rock back, pulling the man with him onto his lap and into his chest, hooking his chin over the smaller’s shoulder, sitting cross legged on the bloodstained floor. The two men hold onto each other like lifelines, barely daring to think, to breathe, lest the other disappear. Suddenly Johnny pulls back, and pushing the collar of Ten’s shirt aside, he sinks his teeth into the mark, the promise that two stupid teenagers made many years ago. A promise that no matter what, no matter the trials and troubles life threw at either of them, they would always stand by each other, facing the world together. They would think of the other first, considering their needs before anyone else. When one fell, the other would be there to pick him up, to hold him, and to set his feet back on the right path. Two irresponsible teenagers may have made that promise, but they must have been wise beyond their years, because somehow they knew, in the depths of their heart, that they would go to great lengths, to the ends of the earth to keep that promise. Johnny releases Ten and tilts his chin up, allowing Ten to re-puncture the twin holes in his neck and reaffirm their pact of love, dedication, and devotion that no amount of time or distance, not even five years of complete separation, would be able to sever. As the thread between them snaps back to life, and Johnny feels air fill his lungs for what felt like the first time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pack looks on in amazement and confusion. 

“Not to break up this happy moment,” Taeyong calls over, “But Ten, what are you doing here? We thought you were dead.”

Ten looks over, still sitting on Johnny’s lap. “Apparently there’s this spell that breaks mating bonds. It causes indescribable pain though, I’m so sorry you had to go through that baby.” Ten runs his fingers through Johnny’s hair lovingly. “My father hired some witches and tied me down and broke the bond. After that he brought me here and hid me in the basement. I got out because the people guarding my door ran up here when they realized you all were here. Finally got to put my lockpicking skills you use! Youngie, you never realized I was here cause I don’t think you’ve been here for more than a week over the past five years.” Taeyong’s face drops. 

“You mean you’ve been here the entire time?”

“Hey, don’t worry cousin, I wouldn’t have spent any time here either if I wasn’t locked up.”

Hansol comes forward. “Ten, we’re all so happy to see that you’re alive, and you’ll be getting so many hugs later, but right now we have a mission to complete and we’re kind of on a time crunch.” Ten nods, getting up from the floor and helping Johnny up. Johnny looks down at Ten adding “We’re here for Jisung. Is he still in his room?” Ten looks lost. “Uhm, I think so? I haven’t really been getting any news since I was in the basement.” Taeil nods, moving towards the library, the rest of the pack following him. Johnny links hands with Ten, and despite still being covered in blood, he looks the happiest he has ever been. Taeil finds the secret entrance in the library and they all head upstairs to the third floor. Opening the door to the hallway, Taeil peeks out, and quickly scanning and then turning back to the pack. 

“There’s two guards on either side of Jisung’s door, and one of them is a pretty powerful witch.” He whispers.

Yuta nods and moves to stand beside Taeil. Kneeling down, Yuta places his hands on the ground, magic leaking out from of his fingertips. The magic slithers across the ground and under the doorway, presumably towards the guards. The kitsune closes his eyes and breaths out slowly, opening them back up when the pack hears two thumps outside. Taeil opens the door again, scanning the hallway. Opening the door fully, the pack files out to the sight of a man and a woman passed out on the ground. Walking up to the door, Doyoung smiles at the black sign that has “Jisung’s Room” drawn on it along with skulls and crossbones. Yuta runs a glowing hand over the door to scan for spells, dismantling them and stepping aside so Taeyong can open the door. They’re greeted with the sight of a peach-haired boy lounging on the bed, scrolling through his phone. The boy looks up nonchalantly, pausing his game. “Took you long enough” he sighs, reaching under his bed to grab a suitcase. As the boy unfolds himself from the bed, Doyoung is surprised to see he is as tall as, if not taller, than Taeyong. Doyoung smiles in satisfaction, tucking that fact away into the corner of his mind dedicated to things he can hold over Taeyong. Technically Doyoung can hold anything over Taeyong. The bunny’s taller than him too. Taeyong rolls his eyes and walks over to pull Jisung into a hug, the young vampire bringing up his arms to hug him back. “Yeah, I missed you too” Taeyong replies, smiling. They head out of the room, the entire pack on guard for danger. Heading back downstairs, Taeil is the first out of the library when he suddenly stops, Taeyong bumping into his back. Peering over his mate’s shoulder, Taeyong gasps. The pack pushes into the ballroom, stopping in shock over the sight in front of them. A man stands in the middle of the room, surrounded by dead vampires. He looks to be around forty, casual stance, hands in the pockets of his suit pants. The man smiles over at Taeyong and Jisung, fangs glinting. “Hello sons.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JOHNTEN NATION RISE


	8. I Haven't Forgotten Y'all I Promise!

I know it's been sooooo long and I'm sooo sorry but university has been really kicking my ass right now. And, I've decided to go back and revise my writing to develop relationships and the plot more. I feel like I'm leaving a lot of stuff unexplained, and we're totally not getting enough Dojae content, even though they're the main ship. So, to tide y'all over, here is song playlists for each couple! The songs are mostly arranged in the way that their relationship develops. Personally, Chensung is my favorite lol

Yusol:

  * Perfect: One Direction
  * Crazy: Kat Dahlia
  * Mercy: Brett young
  * Woke Up In Japan: 5 Seconds of Summer
  * Never Forget You: Zara Larsson
  * If You Wanna Love Somebody: Tom Odell
  * Appreciated: Rixton



2tae:

  * Bite: Troye Sivan
  * War Of Hearts: Ruelle (where my shadowhunters fans at?)
  * Secret Love Song: Little Mix feat Jason Derulo
  * You & I: One Direction
  * Silence: Clean Bandit
  * Whiplash: NCT U
  * A Thousand Years: Christina Perri



Johnten:

  * We Belong: RAC
  * Lights Down Low: MAX (when they marked each other)
  * Starving: Hailee Steinfeld
  * Once in a Lifetime: One Direction (This one hits me HARD)
  * Can You Hold Me: NF
  * Run To You: Liam Ferrari
  * Still Into You: Paramore
  * Act My Age: One Direction



Dojae:

  * Seeing Blind: Niall Horan
  * There For You: Martin Garrix
  * Home: One Direction
  * I Know You Got Away: R5
  * Don’t Forget Where You Belong: One Direction
  * Take Me: Aly and Aj
  * I Got You: Bebe Rexha
  * Say You Won’t Let Go: James Arthur



Winkun:

  * Company: Justin Bieber
  * That’s So Us: Allie X
  * Talk Me Down: Troye Sivan
  * If I Could Fly: One Direction
  * Halo: Beyonce



Luwoo:

  * Something Great: One Direction
  * Stockholm Syndrome: One Direction
  * Make You Smile: Elle King
  * Mistakes: Basenji



Markhyuck:

  * I’m Only Me When I’m With You: Taylor Swift
  * I Got You: Bebe Rexha
  * Bloom: Troye Sivan
  * Symphony: Clean Bandit
  * Only Exception: Paramore
  * Perfect: Ed Sheeran



Norenmin:

  * Youth: Troye Sivan
  * I Like Me Better: Lauv
  * Run Away With Me: Carly Rae Jepsen
  * 18: One Direction
  * I Won’t Give Up: Jason Mraz
  * Endlessly: The Cab



Chensung:

  * See you again: Miley Cyrus
  * Best friend: Sofi Tukker
  * Oath: Cher Lloyd feat Becky G
  * Voodoo Doll: 5 Seconds of Summer (Jisung tried to ignore his crush….it didn’t work)
  * Happy: Never Shout Never
  * Honeydew: Singto Conley, Hikaru Station (Chenle sings this around the house to annoy Jisung)



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment more songs you think fit each relationship!


	9. Schematics

Hello everyone! I’m almost done with editing and updating my chapters, so expect a new chapter within the next week! The updates version of the first chapter is already up, so if you want a peek at my improved writing, take a look-see through that chapter. I figured I should finally explain the schematics of how the supernatural world works with the natural world. After the Great Rebellion when humans rose up and defeated the supernaturals, the supernatural creatures retreated into closed off communities where they lived by themselves for hundreds of years. Werewolves are indigenous to wooded areas, so they returned to those areas. As you will see in my 2tae spin-off (get pumped y’all) the first settlers in America were actually a community of werewolves that thrived in the woodlands on the east coast. Most vampires were able to retain their riches so they lived in mountainous areas, importing essential goods. Werewolves and vampires evolve very quickly, so within a few hundred years their genes were already so far removed from humans that they could no longer pro-create with them. Vampires and werewolves are only born, not made through the bite. Vampires can only drink human blood, the blood of supernatural creatures has no nutritional value and tastes terrible. Supernatural creatures can’t even donate blood because it would kill any human who got it in their system.

Witches were able to blend in with the human community, so there is still human-witch relationships, and if they have a child it will be a human. Being supernatural is actually a combination of four genes, two for general supernatural magic that ensures the ability to mate and a slower aging process/lengthened lifespan, and two that tells the exact creature that you are. The genes work together, so if you only have two it won’t be activated. Witches automatically pass down their two genes, but without another witch the child will only have those two genes and the supernatural abilities won’t be activated. Half witches can also pass down their two genes, so if a ¼ witch and a ¼ witch both pass down their two genes their child will be a witch. A ½ witch and a ½ witch can also have a witch child. Yep it’s unnecessarily complicated but that’s how I like to live my life. Donghyuck’s grandmothers on both sides were half-witches, but they didn’t tell their husband or children (Donghyuck’s parents) so the parents were both surprised when Hyuck turned out to be a witch. In fact, Hyuck’s grandmothers were best friends and decided to set up their son and daughter, which is how Hyuck’s parents got together. Two supernaturals can have a child together, but it’s not common because the communities just started opening up in recent years. That’s why everyone thinks it’s weird that the NCT pack have so many different creatures. Were-wolf/bunny mixes create smaller wolves that are very quick and light on their feet. Were-anything/vampire creates an animal that needs blood to survive but also regular (huh?) human food (Haha get it? Regular, huh? Ok moving on). The wolf will also be smaller. The bunny pretty much stays the same size but it’s got cute lil fangs (like Bunnicula). Witch/supernatural pairings just means the person has a bit of magical powers, and a witch/vampire needs both blood and human food.  Kitsune is a dominant gene so a kitsune-anything is just a kitsune.

Alright I think that’s all for now. Comment/dm/cc me if you have any other questions, both should be linked below and if not my twt is @things_nct and my cc link is in my twt bio so plz pay attention to me! Also I made TONS of mood boards covering the dynamics of each romantic relationship, plus markhyuck first date, johnten prom night, markhyuck and johnten falling in love, family boards for Markjohnhyuckten, dojaeno, the china line, and lots of other stuff so if you want me to post that to twitter tell me! I promise they look really cool. Alright see you guys soon!


	10. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I'm finally back! All of the chapters are updated, so look through those to get new and better content. Finally, here's the new chapter! Hope y'all like it. Tell me if you want me to post my moodboards!

Doyoung feels the rumble behind his as Jaehyun growls and the werewolves bring their claws back out into attack mode. Yuta’s tails swish behind him, glimmering yellow. Taeyong, Taeil, Ten, and Jisung’s mouths look more full as they draw back their lips, revealing their fangs. Doyoung pulls out his knives, feeling their comfortable weight in his hands. Watching them closely, the man in the middle of the room simply chuckles, unperturbed. “Now now kids, can’t we talk this out?”

Taeyong scoffs. “You discarded that option when you sicced your goons on my mate and beat him within an inch of his life. You discarded that option when you trapped my own family members-” 

“ **_Son_ ** ,” Chin Hwa interrupted, booming out “I did this  _ for _ our family. When my plan is finalized, we will have complete rule over the world. Me at the head, you at my right. You will have anything you could ever want. Our  _ family _ will live in prosperity for the rest of their days!” 

Taeyong snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, before you get paranoid and kill me just like you killed my mother, your brothers, and your sisters. The only reason you haven’t killed uncle Leechaiyapornkul is because he helped you.” 

Chin Hwa’s countenance morphed into sadness, a feeble mask that couldn’t hide his cruel, glinting eyes. “I would never do that. You’re my son. Everyone else died from rival clans or-” He pauses, looking at Taeyong’s pack in disgust. “Or dirty  _ wolves. _ ”

“I’m not your son and I never have been. I don’t claim you as my own. My family is right here” Taeyong replies, motioning to the growling, shifting pack behind him. 

Chin Hwa tilts his head to the side, examining the rest of the pack with beady, cruel eyes. “So you've finally decided to play in the Big Leagues, hmm?” An unnerving grin crawls across Chin Hwa’s face and then, he vanishes. Doyoung feels wind whoosh past him and suddenly Chin Hwa was nose to nose with….Taeil? Somehow, Taeil had predicted Chin Hwa’s movement and stepped in front of Taeyong, protecting him from his father. 

“Don’t test me, Moon. Step. Aside.”

Taeil simply smirks, not replying. 

Chin Hwa straightens up, chest puffing out in rage. “Did my men beat you into stupidity? You couldn’t fight against them, what makes you think you can fight me?”

Taeil shrugs, rolling his sleeves up casually. “Gotta keep you guys on your toes.” Faster than Doyoung’s eye can track, Taeil throws Chin Hwa across the room, a  _ thud _ echoing around the room as his body slams into the opposite wall and slides down to the floor. Standing, Chin Hwa shakes his head and growls, rushing towards Taeil. Taeil meets him in the middle of the room, sliding back as Chin Hwa runs into him. Chin Hwa slides a hand from Taeil’s shoulder to his neck, slamming him to the ground. Cruelly laughing, Chin Hwa leans over Taeil, his previously perfectly coiffed hair a disheveled mess on his head.

“Let’s hope your precious little pack hidden away in their high end neighborhood is as tough fighters as Taeil here.”

The world moves in slow motion as Doyoung’s breath is pulled out of his body, realization bursting into his brain.  _ The house is already under attack.  _ Doyoung looks at Hansol, Hansol’s realization flashing across his face at the same time. Hansol clenches his fist, face twitching as he quickly formulates a plan. Turning to the pack, Hansol nods at them and then at the door across the room. Taeil notices from under his attacker. The smaller vampire grabs Chin Hwa’s arm and flips them over, shoving Chin Hwa to the ground.

“Go, I’ll hold him off.” Taeil yells hoarsely.

Taeyong grabs Jisung’s suitcase and takes Jisung’s hand, running towards the door first as Jaehyun turns to Doyoung. “You ready?” Doyoung nods, shrinking down into a black bunny. Jaehyun looks down on him in surprise. 

“I totally forgot that was an option.” Jaehyun shifts into a grey wolf and he and Doyoung dash towards the door, Doyoung racing through first and out of the small closet, almost running into Jisung. As Jaehyun tumbles out after Doyoung, Johnny as a huge black wolf appears close behind with Ten clinging to his broad back. Ten slides off Johnny as Yuta and Hansol appear, a small red nine tailed fox next to a large brown wolf. As Yuta and Hansol turn back into humans, Taeyong starts back towards the door. 

“I need to go back and help Taeil”

Hansol brings up an arm in front of Taeyong. “We’re going to need all the help possible at the house.” Taeyong looks down at Hansol’s arm, slowly dragging his gaze back to Hansol’s eyes. Drawing his shoulders back and tilting his chin, Taeyong looks every bit his father’s son, eyes growing cold.

“That is my  _ mate  _ in there. I can feel-” A boom reverberates in the room next to them and Taeyong pauses, flinching. “I can feel every bit of what he’s feeling. He needs my help.”

Hansol pauses, jaw twitching. Finally, he drops his arm. “We’ll see you back at the house then.” Taeyong nods, disappearing through the door. Yuta looks back at the mansion, eyes turning orange as he scans it. “There’s no one of immediate importance inside. We can run back to the car.” Everyone shifts into their animal form and Ten and Jisung climbing onto Johnny and Hansol’s backs, weak from a lack of human blood from their imprisonment in the house. Jisung carefully holds the suitcase in between himself and Hansol, wrapping his arms around the bag and grabbing onto the wolf’s fur. Hansol softly yips, making sure everyone is ready, and the pack races towards the woods. Making no attempt to be quiet, the pack reaches the treeline, wolves thundering through the underbrush. Doyoung and Yuta share a glace, both much lighter on their feet. Doyoung runs in front of the pack, straight ahead, curbing his instinct to run in a zig-zag. Urgency is thick in the air, Doyoung can smell the panic of each pack member. The stinging scent of gasoline enters Doyoung’s nostrils as they near the car, and one by one each pack member morphs back into their human form, dashing towards the car. Hansol and Yuta jump into the front seats, Doyoung, Jisung, and Jaehyun cramming into the back while Johnny and Ten slide into the center seats. The car rumbles into life under Doyoung and Hansol peels out of the parking lot, speeding down back roads until they reach the main one. Slowing down to a barely legal speed along the main road, each member of the pack is practically vibrating with tension. The pack jumps as the silence is broken, Ten coughing nervously from his seat. 

“If I’m going to fight at all, I’m going to need some human blood. I’ve been getting cow blood for the past five years, and let me tell you, that stuff gets real old real quick.” 

Jisung nods, agreeing with Ten. “Yeah, I’ve only been getting cow blood for a couple weeks and I’m already tired of it.”

Hansol sighs in frustration. “Where are we going to get human blood at this time of night?” 

“Actually,” Doyoung sifts, leaning forward to talk to Hansol, “I heard from some customers at the bar that one of the clubs in town is a great spot for a quick hunt. It’s pretty near the bar. Sometimes I get bite-dazed humans wandering into the bar late a night.” 

Hansol nods, and Doyoung gives directions. Thankfully, the club is barely out of the way, so they only lose a few minutes. Putting the car into park outside the club, Hansol and Yuta look at each other silently for a moment, communicating through their Bond. Yuta then looks back at the passengers in the car. 

“What we’re about to do is very unethical, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Ten, Jisung, Johnny, come with me.” 

The appointed members exit the car, Jisung crawling over Jaehyun from his spot in the middle of him and Doyoung. Doyoung watches pensivly from the car as his pack members walk to two alcohol-addled humans, yelling “Hey! How are you? Haven’t seen you in a while!” The men smile at them, dazed by Yuta and Ten’s bright smiles. The group clusters around the humans, leading them to a side alley. Doyoung leans over to get a clearer view, seeing Yuta place a hand over each man’s eyes, the hands emitting a bright red flash, and the humans crumpling to the ground. Johnny catches one, Yuta catches the other, and they both position the heads to the side. The two vampires lean over their respective humans and Doyoung finally looks away, stomach roiling. He doesn’t look back until he hears the car doors slide open, Jisung plopping himself back into his seat. The young buy shifts, wiping his mouth with the back of his hands, and the rest of the members enter the car, Hansol putting the car back into drive and pulling away. Doyoung looks back and barely catches a glimpse of the two men sitting, leaning against each other on the wall, eyes closed as if they were sleeping. Jisung nudges Doyoung, whispering “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Yuta and Johnny made sure we didn’t drain ‘em dry.” 

The tension in the car turns into determination as they pull up to the front of the neighborhood, gate into the community ripped off its hinges. Hansol parks the car right inside of the gates, the packs tumbling out and jogging past houses until they reach their own in the back of the community. Doyoung’s keen ears can already pick up the sounds of a struggle, faint  _ booms _ going off as Jaemin throws his potion bombs. The snarls of the werewolves and vampires mix together, and lights flash as pack members and Lee clan witches throw smaller potions at each other. There is another unfamiliar sound, loud and rattling through Doyoung’s chest. It sounds almost like fireworks or…. _ gunshots? Where would they get a gun? _ As their house comes into view, the sight they are greeted with causes Doyoung to skid to a stop, the rest of the pack slowing down with him. They stand and gaze in amazement, jaws dropping. The weres are in full fighting form, werewolf claws out and Sicheng and Renjun’s knives flashing. Lucas smashes through the vampires, a bowling ball blowing crashing through pins. Mark and Donghyuck work together, Donghyuck flashing light potions into the enemies’ eyes while Mark steps in for the attack, taking his distracted opponent down. Jaemin and Jeno also work in tandem, throwing bombs and clawing throats. Sicheng and Renjun speed around, cutting tendons in legs and leaving the witch or vampire for their pack member to finish off. Jungwoo and Kun work on the spell-protected porch, creating more potion bombs for Jaemin and Donghyuck. This wasn’t what surprised Doyoung, no, the pack working together as a unit was expected. What surprised Doyoung was the  _ humans _ . Sandra, the unassuming soccer mom, had pulled out her entire collection of Pampered Chef Cutlery and was currently taking out her PTA frustrations on a very shocked witch. Jerry from two houses down had decided to pull out his rifle and was using his skill in deer hunting to pick off Lee vampires. His hunting partner and decorating competitor for just about every holiday, David, also had his rifle out. Casually smoking a cigarette, David yelled out “three!” as he shot a vampire straight through the skull. Jerry grinned and yelled out “five!” as his shot went through two vampires. The annoying kids who always parked their bicycles on the front lawn had taken residence in the upper floor of the neighbor’s house and were launching projectiles from their slingshots at the faces of the Lee clan. One of the kids hit a vampire in the eye and the group whooped, another kid marking down a tally on the clipboard he was holding. A witch throws a potion at them, but the kids just laugh and taunt him as it explodes over the side of the house, far below their window. Jerry’s wife, Leann, looks up worriedly at the window from her place next to Kun where she is handing him the ingredients he needs. 

“Kids! Get back into the house! You don’t need to be seeing this!” Leann yells, and the kids grumble, moving inside the house and closing the blinds. 

Some of the Lee clan look at where the newcomers are standing and charges them, causing the group to jump into action. Ten, invigorated by the fresh human blood in him, rushes forward and stabs a vampire in the heart with the knife given to him by Doyoung. Johnny follows close behind, a completely different picture from his earlier rampage. This Johnny was fully in control, slicing through vampires calmly and with purpose. David notices the vampires break away follows them with his eyes, turning and seeing the group behind him. Grinning, David lefts a hand and waves. 

“Noticed y’all needed some help!”

Nodding Hansol yells back “Thank you!”

“Nonsense!” David replies, aiming and shooting another vampire, “Just bein’ neighborly!”

Hansol, Doyoung, and Jaehyun jump into the fight while Yuta grabs Jisung’s hand and starts moving through the battlefield, swiping vampires and witches away with his magic. THe kistune gets to the porch, the protective magic recognizing him and letting him through, but has to tug a bit to pull Jisung through. Once Jisung’s in, Yuta opens the front door and shoves Jisung through to help the waiting Chenle with maintaining the protective barrier. Doyoung falls into a familiar rhythm, swiping and slicing anyone who looks like they want to kill him. A vampire rushes at Doyoung, almost faster than he can track. Trusting his rabbit senses, Doyoung slides to the left, bringing out his right arm and sinking his knife into the vampire’s chest. The vampire still catches Doyoung on his shoulder, scraping him with sharpened nails before going down. The adrenaline rushing through Doyoung dulls the pain, and Doyoung turns to see another vampire leaping towards him. Jaehyun catches the vampire, slamming it to the ground and grabbing it by the head, twisting and breaking its neck. Doyoung leans over and stabs the vampire in the heart. Breathing hard, Doyoung and Jaehyun pause and look at each other. Hearing a faint rumble in the distance, Doyoung frowns and tilts his head. Jaehyun frowns back, and they turn to the sight of a red Corvette pulling up in front of the house. Taeyong exits the passenger side, something round dangling from his hand, and leans back against the car. As Taeil gets out from the driver’s seat, and walks around the car, Taeyong holds the object up, and everyone on the battlefield freezes mid-combat. Once everyone’s eyes are on Taeyong, he speaks. 

“It’s over.”

The object slowly turns to reveal Chin Hwa’s head, dangling from Taeyong’s hand by its hair.   


	11. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would ya look at that, I’m actually posting another chapter at a reasonable time.

Doyoung is left breathless in amazement as he stares at the Lee clan vampire across from him. The vampire looks back at him, both men sharing their confusion. They both turn as Taeyong scoffs, throwing the head onto the grass. The head crumbles on impact, a testament to how truely old Lee Chin Hwa really was.

“Leave” Taeyong commands, his voice ringing out over the lawn. The enemy vampires and witches start to slowly back away, fangs retracting and potions being tucked into satchels. There’s a rustle near the house where Jaemin and Jeno were fighting, a small commotion as a previously unnoticed vampire emerges. Looking to be around 40 years old, he is surprisingly short, shorter than Jaemin and Jeno, but he stands tall, an unmistakable air of authority around him. His suit is spotless, face clean like he hadn’t even been fighting at all. The vampire chuckles, sinister aura reminiscent of Chin Hwa himself.

“Thank you,” The vampire calls out to Taeyong “for getting my brother out of the way.”

Doyoung hears a faint growl and he turns to look over at the werewolf beside him. It’s Johnny, eyes a brighter red than he had ever seen them before. The tall man is practically vibrating with anger, fists clenching and unclenching as his claws poke themselves back out. Ten stands next to Johnny, eyes wide and face pale. The confident fighting spirit had vanished from the vampire, his shoulders drawing inwards as he leans towards his mate.

“Uncle Leechaiyapornkul.” Taeyong acknowledges.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t have a backup plan?” Somchai asks. Taeyong isn’t even given a chance to respond before his uncle is moving, even faster than Chin Hwa, racing towards his tired, broken nephew to finish him off. Before he can reach Taeyong, Somchai is intercepted, body flying into body, as a huge black wolf hits Somchai in the side. The two creatures roll over and over in the grass fighting for the upper hand. The wolf slams Somchai onto his back and transforms back into a human, claws and teeth still bared.

“ _YOU HURT HIM I’M GOING TO KILL YOU.”_ Johnny bellows, raking his claws across the vampire’s face. Ten watches from near Doyoung, trembling slightly, too scared to even move. Doyoung shifts closer to Ten, putting a comforting arm around his shoulder.  
“It’s Johnny.” Doyoung murmurs. “He’ll be fine.”

Somchai writhes underneath the huge werewolf, grabbing onto an arm and sinking his fangs into it. Johnny howls, yanking his arm back and tearing the skin even more. As Somchai prepares to push himself up and overtake Johnny, the taller man grabs his face and shoves it back into the ground. Leaning down swiftly, Johnny bares his canines, biting into and ripping out the vampire’s throat.

Everyone on the field is frozen as Somchai turns to dust underneath Johnny, the last leader of the Lee clan dead. The werewolf’s eyes return to brown, Johnny wrinkling his nose and spitting dust out of his mouth. Standing up, Johnny looks around the field, shuffling his feet as he notices everyone’s eyes on him. With a choked gasp, Ten ducks out from under Doyoung’s arm and rushes across the yard, flying into Johnny’s waiting hug. The small vampire’s body is wracked with sobs as he clings to his mate.

“Shh” Johnny whispers, gently running his fingers through Ten’s hair. “It’s over.”

“Ten?” A voice calls out from across the yard, Doyoung turning to see Mark gazing at his brother’s mate in amazement. “Ten is that you?”

Ten pulls back slightly, meeting eyes with Mark and smiling slightly. “Hey buddy.” He looks over at Donghyuck, also standing stock still, eyes wide. “You both have grown so much. Where’s-” Ten fully pulls back from Johnny, looking around the yard. “Where’s Jeno?”

“H-here!” Jeno calls, slowly making his way towards his old friend in shock.

Ten sighs and frowns. “Dammit, you’re all taller than me.”

“Tennie!” Donghyuck finally cries, feet unsticking from the ground and racing towards the vampire, wrapping his arms around Ten. Mark and Jeno look at each other, faces finally breaking in to smiles. The young werewolves both run to join the bundle of Ten, Johnny, and Donghyuck, Johnny gathering them into his arms and encircling the whole group.

The Lee clan witches and vampires shift uncomfortably, glancing around at it other in bewilderment. Finally, one vampire breaks off from her group and walks up to Taeyong. Kneeling down in front of him, the vampire starts “I pledge my-”

“Cousin, no, no, stop!” Taeyong holds his hands out pleadingly. “I don’t want to be your new leader, that’s not why I killed Chin Hwa.”

The vampire looks up in confusion. “So what exactly are we supposed to do? You’re next in line to be our leader.”

Taeyong looks around the lawn helplessly. “I don’t know, maybe hold a vote?”

“Yeah maybe elect someone who isn’t so bloodthirsty?” Yuta pipes up, leaning against the railing of the porch.

The vampire looks back at Yuta, rolling her eyes. “We’re vampires. We’re all bloodthirsty.”

Chuckling in surprise, Yuta responds “You know what I mean.” Nudging Leann, who is still standing next to him, Yuta adds “who knew these old farts would have such a sense of humor?” Leann laughs nervously, leaning away from the kitsune. Jerry notices his wife’s awkward fiddling with the hem of her shirt and calls out “Well, y’all can figure this out. We better head home.” David and Sandra agree, the neighbor kids coming out from the house where they were hiding. As the humans return home, the NCT pack and Lee clan return to the matter at hand.

The vampire who was previously kneeling before Taeyong stands up, turning to the clan gathering behind her. “I, personally, am tired of fighting.” The clan murmurs their consent, nodding among themselves. “I also only fought because Chin Hwa and Somchai would kill me if I didn’t.” She continues, looking at the piles of dust next to her “But now they’re dead.”

“Why don’t you lead, Irene?” A voice yells out from the crowd, more people clapping and calling out in agreement. Irene raises her eyebrows, looking at the clan in surprise. “Really?” she asks, glancing back at Taeyong and Taeil.

“It’s what the people want.” Taeyong shrugs, motioning to the group. Taeil nods next to him.  “You’re a few years older as Taeyong here. You’ve got plenty of experience.” “You’re the closest relation to me besides Ten.” Taeyong adds.

“And I sure as hell don’t want to be responsible for this shitshow.” Ten yells from where he’s still wrapped in hugs next to the pile of dust that was previously his father.

“Remember when we were little and I used to make you attend lessons with me so I wouldn’t be lonely, even though girls weren’t supposed to go to school?” Taeyong gently prods.

Irene smiles fondly at Taeyong. “Remember when we almost got married?” Irene giggles. “How in the world did our parents not see how ridiculously gay we both are?”

Taeyong chuckles along with her. “Oh they knew, they just didn’t care. Irene, you’ve got nothing to worry about. You know as much, if not more, about being a leader.”

“Yeah because I, unlike you, actually listened to those lessons.”  Irene responds, nudging Taeyong. The cousins sigh, reminiscing about their childhood in the mountains of South Korea. Finally Irene nods, turning to the clan.  

“All in favor of Irene as the new clan leader?” Taeyong calls out. Slowly, hands raise until every single hand is up. “Well that’s that.” Taeyong nods, turning back to his cousin. Irene smiles, calling out “Witches of the former Lee clan, you are released from your contract. Return to your homes and spread the word of a Bae clan ruled by justice, not anger.” The witches nod, leaving the yard and heading out of the neighborhood. The remaining vampires drop to one knee, reciting in unison “We pledge ourselves to Bae Joohyun, leader of the Bae clan.” Each vampire of the clan bites into their wrist, squeezing a few drops of blood onto the ground. “The earth as our witness, we show our loyalty to you.” Irene gasps, head tilting to the sky as her eyes flash silver, a representation of her newfound authority over the vampire clan.

Dropping down to one knee, Taeyong adds “On behalf of the three remaining members of the former Lee clan, I respect and acknowledge the new leader of the Bae clan.” Hansol walks forward, also dropping to a knee in front of Irene and affirming “On behalf of the NCT pack, I respect and acknowledge the new leader of the Bae clan.”  Irene nods, acknowledging their respect, and turns back to her clan. “Let’s go home.” Picking up the bodies of the dead younger vampires and the bones of the dead older vampires, the clan starts to trickle out, led by Irene. They pile into an array of cars and vans parked outside of the neighborhood and drive away, leaving the NCT pack standing in their yard, shell-shocked over the events they just witnessed. Doyoung leans onto Jaehyun, his shoulder throbbing from where the vampire scratched it earlier.

“Is it over?” Doyoung looks to see Jisung and Chenle poking their heads out of the front door, looking at their pack. Taeyong smiles softly at the two boys. “Yeah, I think it’s over. There is one thing I need to sort out though. Jisung, get over here.” Nodding, Jisung strides across the yard towards his brother. With Jisung and Taeil on either side of him, Taeyong turns to Hansol and drops to one knee again. Jisung and Taeil follow in suit as Taeyong states “I formally request that the Lee clan be absorbed into the NCT pack, conferring all authority from Lee Taeyong to Ji Hansol.” Hansol smiles at the men, turning to the gathered pack behind him. “All in favor?” he calls out, receiving a unanimous “aye!” in response. Taeyong gives a small grin, and he and the two others bite into their wrists, blood dripping to the ground and reciting “The earth as our witness, we show our loyalty to you.” The three vampires stand up and look around awkwardly, unsure what to do with their new membership.

“Group hug!” Chenle yells out, running towards Jisung and jumping into his arms. The youngest kids follow, swarming their new pack members. The rest of the pack latches on in the back, squeezing closer and closer until Taeyong stands up on his tiptoes, searching for air.  

“You all need to take a shower.” Doyoung grumbles, wrapping his arms around Jeno and Renjun but tilting his head back. Jaehyun laughs and detaches himself from the group.

“Race you to the bathroom!”

Jaehyun takes off, dashing towards to front door, Doyoung right on his heels. The rest of the pack follows, yelling and tripping over each other. Lucas goes down first, Renjun bumping into him hard. Jungwoo pretends to fall on top of Lucas, dramatically shouting “Oh no!” Lucas laughs, reaching over to grab Hansol’s pant leg and bringing him down. Yuta drops to his knees next to Hansol, taking his face gently into his hands.

“Yuta,” Hansol gasps, bringing a trembling hand to his mate’s cheek. “Go on for me.” Hansol relaxes, flopping back.

“No Hansol!” Yuta cries, “I will always love you!” Yuta tilts his head back, wailing to the sky. Doyoung rolls his eyes at his pack leader’s dramatics, bounding up the stairs after Jaehyun. Jaehyun cackles as he slips into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Doyoung, expecting this outcome, runs past the door and down the hallway into the bathroom in Mark and Donghyuck’s room. Giggling to himself, Doyoung leans against the door to catch his breath. Shedding his clothes, Doyoung walks over to turn the showerhead on, feeling for the right temperature. Humming quietly, Doyoung steps into the shower, grabbing the shampoo and squirting some into his hand. As he reaches up to scrub his head, Doyoung feels pain flare through his right shoulder. Looking over, Doyoung sees the deep scratches, blood oozing out and running down his chest. With a quiet gasp, Doyoung slowly walks backwards until he hits the wall behind him. Sliding to the floor, the were-bunny’s breath shudders out from his body in quick pants as he presses his cheek to the cool tile.

 _I could have died._ Doyoung thinks, the events of the day flashing through his head. _We all could have died._ He continues to shiver as the water runs over him, evaporating and cooling his skin. As Doyoung puts his head in his hands he hears a gentle knock on the door.

“Doyoung, are you ok?” Kun calls out softly.

“I-I’m fine just leave me alone for a bit please!” Doyoung replies, clutching his torso.

“Doyoung, you’re not fine. Can I please come in? I want to help you.” Kun pleads.

Doyoung sighs, fists clenching and unclenching. “Ok, alright.” Kun opens the door, walking to the shower and pulling back the curtain. He’s careful to look away from the man on the floor as he leans over to shut off the stream of water, grabbing a towel and covering Doyoung with it.

Holding out a small leaf, Kun commands “Eat this.” Doyoung nods, taking the plant in trembling hands. Kun places a hand over Doyoung’s. “Breathe a bit. I don’t want you choking.” Doyoung nods, following along with Kun’s breathing exercises. As Doyoung’s pants even out, he puts the leaf into his mouth, chewing slowly. The bunny wrinkles his nose at the bitter taste, but his displeasure is quickly overpowered by the rush of relief that floods through him.

“You ok?” Kun asks, sitting on the edge of the tub.

Doyoung nods, but his heart is still racing. “Better, at least.” Blushing, Doyoung suddenly remembers he’s only covered by a towel. As he scrambles to wrap it more securely around himself, the healer scoffs.

“Don’t worry your little head, you’ve got nothing that entices me.”

Doyoung nods in understanding. “So that’s why I never hear you and Sicheng like I hear Hansol and Yuta sometimes.”

Chuckling, Kun replies “At least you don’t have the room under Taeil and Taeyong. You’d think that after six centuries they’d get a bit tired of each other, but I guess not.” As the two men laugh together, Doyoung feels the tension in his chest loosen. Sighing, Doyoung leans his head back against the shower wall.

“We could’ve died, you know?” He says, looking over at Kun. “Me, you, any of the people we love. They could be dead.”

Kun nods, looking down for a moment before meeting Doyoung’s eyes. “But we didn’t. We’re all here. We’re all alive. Think of all that you accomplished today. I saw you fighting alongside Jaehyun. You saved his life many times. And he saved yours. We, a tiny little pack made up of people who didn’t fit anywhere else, defeated a reign that has been terrorizing both humans and supernaturals alike for a thousand years. That’s absolutely amazing. Be proud of your pack. Be proud of yourself.”

Doyoung purses his lips, looking at the wall opposite him. “Yeah, I was pretty badass.”

Kun chuckles, shaking his head. “Finish your shower and come find me afterwards to treat your shoulder.” As Kun leaves Doyoung stands back up, putting the towel back on the rack and turning the showerhead back on. Reaching up to shampoo his hair again, Doyoung feels the twinge in his shoulder. Pushing away the oncoming panic, Doyoung thinks instead of the neighbors, so quick to help people they barely knew. Of Sicheng and Renjun dashing around the yard, light on their feet, crippling witches and vampires and disappearing before they knew what hit them. Of Jaemin, when faced with a dwindling supply of potion bombs, straight up punched a witch in the face. He thought of Chenle alone inside the house, scared out of his mind but fully focused on his job at protecting their home. Of Kun and Jungwoo making up lethal potions on the fly, Lucas fighting with his entire body and soul, and Jeno displaying a ferocity that was alien to the normally gentle boy. Of Jisung, who knew NCT for such a short amount of time, and yet he still trusted them with his whole heart. Of Mark and Donghyuck, who were raised and formed by this pack, and will undoubtedly carry it far into the future. Of Johnny and Ten, whose fierce loyalty to their pack and to each other made them the deadliest of pairs. Of Taeil and Taeyong, who would ensure that the unrighteous would receive the punishment they deserve and justice would be served, but wanted nothing but a loving home in return. Of Hansol and Yuta, their strong and fearless leaders, the first to step into a fight, the first to offer their shoulders to lean on. And finally, Doyoung thought of Jaehyun. The man that, even after a year of almost no communication, still welcomed Doyoung back with open arms and an open heart. The man that made sure that Doyoung knew he was safe, even in the midst of the battle, because the werewolf had his back, and always will.

As Doyoung finishes up his shower and heads downstairs, he stops in the living room to wait his turn to be treated. Kun sits in the sickroom wrapping up Taeil’s bruised torso while Sicheng looks on, handing Kun whatever tools he needs. Since everyone in the pack was injured, Jungwoo helps with the smaller injuries and is currently occupied with Jaehyun. Lucas entertains Jungwoo’s patients with jokes and stories to put them at ease. Plopping next to Johnny in the couch, Doyoung asks what everyone’s injuries were.

“Starting from the bottom,” Johnny replies, holding up his hands to count members off. “Jisung is uninjured but needs blood to regain his strength. Chenle has a scratch on his arm, but it has nothing to do with fighting. He’s just clumsy. Jaemin has a black eye and a busted lip. Hyuck is mostly uninjured besides a few scrapes, Mark was too fast for anyone to hurt Hyuck. Let’s just assume everyone is scraped up because the portions those Lee witches threw had glass or some shit in them. Jeno has a broken arm, Renjun has stitches over his left eyebrow, and Mark has a scraped up face and bruised ribs. Lucas has bruised ribs and a broken nose, Jungwoo has a scratched up face, and Sicheng has a broken nose and a sprained ankle. Jae’s stomach is pretty bruised up and his wrist is sprained, Ten,” Johnny paused, looking fondly at the man curled up next to him dabing ointment on his face, “is pretty scratched up and needs more blood, and Kun was quick enough to shield himself so only his arm is cut up. Yuta is uninjured because his magic allows him to fight at a distance, I’ve got 4 broken ribs and the rest are really bruised, Hansol has a few broken fingers, Taeyong has a broken arm and a bruised up face, and Taeil has 8 broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a really bruised face and torso, and a broken ankle.”

“Wow” Doyoung sits back, processing all of the injuries. “That blood dealer is in for a huge payload.”

Johnny chuckles, tilting his head to the side and allowing Ten to access the cuts on the underside of his jaw. “He’ll be here in an hour. We told him to bring as much blood as he could. The Bae clan needs a lot of blood too, so the guy raised prices on us.” Jungwoo finishes wrapping Jaehyun’s wrist, he looks up, calling Doyoung over.  

As Doyoung stands he replies “It’s just the law of supply and demand.” Walking over to Jungwoo, Doyoung sits down and takes off his shirt, allowing the witch to examine his shoulder.

“You won’t need stitches, thankfully.” He murmurs, Lucas handing him the medical tape so that Jungwoo can tape the edges of the gash together. Grabbing a bandage, Jungwoo wraps the shoulder carefully before helping Doyoung put his shirt back on. Doyoung smiles at Jungwoo in thanks and stands, making room for the next patient.

“Wow.” Jaehyun mutters from next to Doyoung. “You really have built muscle over the past year.” Doyoung sighs and rolls his eyes as caramel-haired man leans back a bit, giving Doyoung a once-over.

“Where are the kids, I want to see how they’re doing.” The were-bunny demands, allowing Jaehyun to lead the way to the downstairs movie theater. As he enters the room Doyoung is greeted with the sight of everyone from Jisung to Mark sprawled out on the floor, laying on top of each other. Jeno sits with his back against the middle couch, arm wrapped and cradled in a sling, Donghyuck’s head on his lap. Mark sits at Jeno’s left side, Renjun next to him and Chenle curled up in both of their laps with his head on Mark’s chest. Jaemin is sprawled out on the floor at the feet of Jeno, Mark, and Renjun, Jisung’s head pillowed on his stomach. Jaehyun chuckles at the sight, moving to lay down perpendicular to Jaemin with their heads next to each other. As Doyoung slides down next to Jeno, moving Donghyuck’s body so that it’s across his lap, the rest of the pack trickles in. Johnny and Ten enter first, Ten drinking from a bag of blood that was part of the recent delivery, sitting on the middle couch. Jisung sits up to take a bag from Ten and devours it hungrily, pale skin returning to a healthy glow. Taeyong and Taeil walk in soon after, also with their own blood bags, and settle down next to the aforementioned couple. Yuta takes up residence on the left side couch along with Kun and Sicheng, leaving the smaller right side couch to Jungwoo and Lucas. Hansol enters last, eyes flicking around the room to mentally tally that everyone is there. Standing in the center of the room the alpha calls attention to him, waiting for the chatter around the room to die down.

“First of all,” Hansol starts, “I want to tell you all how incredibly proud I am. We had a week and a half of constant training and we managed to hold our own against an ancient force. Granted,” Hansol stops to chuckle, “a few of them did go a bit easy on us. There was a group that didn’t want to fight as much as we didn’t.”

Lucas huffs from where he was resting against Jungwoo. “I wouldn’t call a broken nose ‘going easy!’”

Taeil leans over and looks at Lucas coolly. “You do realize that the vampire who broke your nose could’ve bashed your entire skull in, right?”

Lucas’s eyes widen as he pushes closer to Jungwoo, the witch wrapping a comforting arm around him. “I should send him a thank-you note.” Lucas murmurs, looking up at Jungwoo. Hansol smiles, adding “I think we should send a nice card to Irene too. But keep in mind guys, there were plenty of vampires and witches who fully believed that  what they were doing was necessary, and that supernaturals should rule the world again. And we managed to take those guys down.”

“Yeah,” Jeno pipes up, “some of those guys looked kind of… happy? Happy to be fighting and killing. I made sure to take care of those ones first. But there were a few that looked just as scared as I felt. My fights with those ones didn’t really end, we were just sparring.”

Hansol nods. “Exactly. I’m proud that you all were discerning, yet able to make quick decisions in the heat of the moment. Honestly, something really good came out of all of this fighting and death. Lee Chin Hwa and Somchai Leechaiyapornkul are both dead, and they can no longer terrorize innocent people. Also,” Hansol turns to smile at Taeil, Taeyong, and Jisung “we have three new family members.”

The pack starts to clap, quickly developing into a holler as NCT welcomes their new members. As they quiet down again, Jungwoo gently pushes Lucas off of him, nervously standing to address Hansol. “My brother and I would also like to join the NCT pack. Our parents have been dead for a few years and this is the closest we’ve had to a real home in a long time.” Jaemin nods, standing to join his brother and adding “We will continue working of course, and we’ll strive every day to contribute to the betterment of our pack family.” Hansol grins, turning to the pack and asking “All in favor?” The responding chorus of “aye!” is deafening in the small room, especially with Lucas, Renjun, and Jeno, yelling their hearts out, but it’s nowhere near as loud as the witch brothers’ matching glowing smiles. Jungwoo and Jaemin sit down again while Hansol finishes up his speech.

“I think that after all of that stress and fighting, we deserve a very long break. Which means tonight, we’re watching high school musical!” As Hansol sits down next to Yuta the room is filled with cheers again, but this time Chenle, and surprisingly Jaehyun, are the loudest. Donghyuck rolls off of Jeno and Doyoung’s laps and slides in between Jeno and Mark, hugging Mark’s arm and leaning into his shoulder. Jaehyun moves to sit next to Doyoung, throwing a blanket over them and wrapping an arm around the were-bunny’s shoulders. Doyoung leans back into Jaehyun’s chest, pulling Jeno into him and sharing the blanket. Doyoung smiles to himself, running his fingers through Jeno’s hair. As Jeno drifts off to sleep, Jaehyun leans closer to Doyoung, quietly asking “whatcha thinking about?” Doyoung smiles even bigger, tilting his head back onto Jaehyun’s shoulder.

“The last time we did this I was about to leave, and our family was a lot smaller. Now I know I’m never going to leave again, and even though our pack is kind of huge, it feels like the more members we add, the more my heart grows to accommodate everyone.”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun agrees, nodding slightly. “No matter who we add, there’s always room for them.”  He pauses before adding “And it’s nice to know you’re not going anywhere.”

“Oh c’mon.” Doyoung yawns, eyes closing. “Our pack is a well-oiled machine. If one gear goes missing the rest of us will fall apart.”

Jaehyun chuckles softly. “Go to sleep Doyoung. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Doyoung frowns, making no attempt to open his eyes. The last thing Doyoung hears is the rumble of Jaehyun’ chest against his ear before he is whisked away to dreams of warmth and safety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol what if I just ended it here.
> 
> I’m not going to but like... that would be funny


	12. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA: This story started present-day, in like July, but with Doyoung's year traveling around, it's now June 2019. So everyone has aged up around a year.

Morning light shines through the blinds, hitting right on Doyoung’s face. Grumbling, Doyoung rolls over, snuggling deeper into the covers. He doesn’t know how he got into bed, but a soft smile makes its way across Doyoung’s face as he thinks of the night before.  _ Jaehyun must have carried me here  _ Doyoung thinks, blushing slightly. Breathing in, the were-bunny realizes the other man’s scent is still all around him, remnants from when Jaehyun tucked him into bed. Bringing the covers to his nose, Doyoung sniffs, thinking  _ Jaehyun Jaehyun Jaehyun  _ and as his eyes crack open  _ JAEHYUN?  _ Doyoung jerks up, scrambling backwards as he wakes up face-to-face with the werewolf. Lying on his stomach, arms tucked under the pillow supporting his head, the light glances across Jaehyun’s peacefully resting face, giving it a gentle glow. Doyoung almost feels guilty about disturbing the man’s peace. Almost. 

“Jaehyun what are you doing here?” Doyoung gasps, holding onto his chest in fright. Jaehyun merely mumbles, turning his face to the other side of his pillow. “Jaehyun. Jaehyun.  _ Jaehyun _ !” Doyoung shakes the brunet’s shoulder repeatedly until Jaehyun finally gives up on sleep, turning back to Doyoung. 

“Morning hyung.” Jaehyun lazily smiles, eyes squinting in the sunlight. 

“Yes, hello Jaehyun. What are you doing here?”

Well,” Jaehyun starts, eyes still half-lidded, “Jisung didn’t really have a place to sleep, cause all the rooms are taken up. So Chenle offered for (told) Jisung to sleep in his room. The hyungs agreed cause they already seem comfortable together. But, this left Lucas without a bed. Jaemin said he could sleep in Jeno and Renjun’s room, so Lucas could room with Jungwoo. To quote Jaemin: ‘No need for another bed, I can just alternate snuggling with them each night.’ Jeno, Renjun, and Lucas all started stuttering like the panicked gays they are, but eventually agreed to it. So that mess was sorted.” Jaehyun yawns and closes his eyes fully, preparing to return to sleep. 

“Jaehyun,” Doyoung prodded, “that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“Oh, right.” Jaehyun sighed, opening his eyes again. “Well Johnny and Ten are in the room now and Lord knows I don’t want to sleep in the same room as them”

Doyoung nods, finally comprehending the situation. “They haven’t seen each other for five years, I’m surprised they didn’t wake the entire house up.”

“Agreed. So I decided to come here. The end.” Jaehyun fully turns over, his back to Doyoung. Rolling his eyes, the were-bunny slides out of bed, grabbing a change of clothes. 

“You can have the bottom two drawers of my wardrobe and half the closet.” Doyoung throws over his shoulder before heading to the bathroom. Jaehyun mumbles in reply, already mostly asleep. Once he enters the bathroom and closes the door behind him, Doyoung groans, lightly hitting himself on the forehead.  _ What did I just get myself into? _

After getting ready Doyoung heads downstairs, walking into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Most of the pack is still asleep, thoroughly worn out from the events from the day before, but there’s still a small group gathered in the kitchen. Taeyong is making chocolate chip pancakes, Taeil sneaking pieces of the chocolate when he can. Johnny sits on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen, showing the vampire situated on his lap pictures of his kindergarten students. Having gone to the salon first thing in the morning, Ten leans his freshly cut and dyed silver hair against his mate’s chest as the werewolf describes “Han is so silly, he can always make the class laugh” and “Changbin is always excited to be at school with his friends.” Sitting across from the couple with a plate full of pancakes, Chenle occasionally leans over to look at the children’s pictures, cooing over chubby cheeks and gap-toothed smiles. Jisung sits next to Chenle, chewing on his food tiredly. Johnny suddenly gasps, sitting straight up and looking at Ten with wide eyes.

“We’re having a class party soon with the parents!” The tall man wiggles with excitement, “You can come, I can introduce you to the class!” Ten nods, grinning over the prospect of meeting the children who have become such a big part of Johnny’s life. “And maybe the single moms will stop hitting on me if they realize I have a…” Johnny pauses, pursing his lips thoughtfully. 

“Boyfriend?” Ten offers, tilting his head. 

“I guess so….” Johnny agrees, “I mean it feels weird to say that you’re just my boyfriend.” 

Ten shrugs. “We can’t exactly tell the humans that we’re mates. They would think that’s way too much information for a kindergarten class.”

“Yeah but…” Johnny pauses again, glancing down before looking straight into Ten’s eyes. “Let’s get married.” 

Ten quirks an eyebrow. “Are you really doing this right here?”

“Yes, yes I am.” Johnny nods vigorously, gently pushing the small vampire off his lap. Holding up a finger, Johnny tells Ten to wait for a moment before running upstairs. The room stills, Jisung with another forkful of pancake halfway to his mouth. Taeyong turns off the stovetop, looking over at the small confused man. The tall man bounds back downstairs, stopping before Ten and sinking to one knee while Taeil sneaks out his phone to record. “I have loved you since the seventh grade. First platonically, but as time went on and we grew in maturity, I realized that I could not picture my life without you by my side. Unfortunately, I had to spend five years doing just that. Those five years were the worst in my life, and now that you are back I know I will spend every moment cherishing you and loving you. Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, will you marry me?” Johnny pulls out a silver spiral constellation ring, holding it up to Ten. Morning light shines through the kitchen window and hits the diamonds just so, causing them to sparkle and catch the eyes of everyone in the kitchen. 

Ten stutters in shock. “Ye-yes Youngho of course I’ll marry you!” The mates beam at each other, Johnny sliding the ring onto Ten’s finger. As Johnny gathers his fiance into his arms, Chenle starts the cheer, the group in the kitchen getting over their shock and clapping along with him. 

“When did you get this ring?” Ten asks, turing his hand this way and that to admire the sparkle. The werewolf sits back down and pulls Ten into his lap. 

“Around two years ago.” Johnny replies. “I was in the mall and I saw it in a jewelry store and instantly knew it was perfect for you. I was planning to just wear it on a chain as a necklace as a memento, but now I don’t have to!” 

Ten sniffs, eyes filling up as he burrows his head into his mate’s chest. “I love you so much,” He mumbles, throat clogged with tears. 

Jisung, watching this interaction, furrows his eyebrows. “Why don’t supernaturals get married very often?” 

“We don’t really feel the need.” Taeyong replies, turning back to the stove. Taeil adds, “What’s a marriage certificate in the face of an eternal magical bond?” 

Doyoung sits at the kitchen island next to the happy couple, continuing “It’s only been in the last century that supernaturals have re-integrated back into human society. We still hold on to most of our traditions, so many supernatural don’t even think of marriage as an option for themselves. I’m sure we’ll see more marriages as time goes on, and we get more involved in the human community, but for now it’s just not a thing.” 

Chenle absentmindedly nods, moving his syrup around on his plate with his fork. “Yeah Jisung, we’re going to get married one day.” Jisung proceeds to choke on his pancake, face turning red. 

“Chenle,” Doyoung admonishes, patting Jisung on the back, “You can’t just blurt out your visions like that. The future is still subject to change.”

The young witch looks up in surprise. “Hyung, that wasn’t a vision. I just kind of know.” 

“How do you know we’re going to get married?” Jisung sputters, “I met you yesterday!” 

“It’s because I’m sentimental and you want to make me happy, so you’ll propose and then we’ll get married.” Chenle shrugs, resting his chin in his hand and looking over at the blushing vampire. 

“That’s- anything could happen between now and then, you don’t know for sure what our relationship is going to be like five or ten years down the road.”

“Oh so you don’t want to make me happy?” Chenle raises his eyebrows, pinning Jisung with his stare. 

Jisung rolls his eyes, looking down at his plate. “I mean- whatever.” He finally mumbles. “We’ll see.” 

“Oh young love.” Ten sighs, smiling at the scene in front of him. Sitting up, he turns to Johnny. “If we’re going to have enough time at the mall, we need to get going!” 

Chenle looks over from where he was stealing Jisung’s last pancake. “You’re going to the mall? I want to go!” Jisung nods emphatically, adding “Me too!” Chenle gasps, grabbing the taller boy’s arm. “We should dye our hair. New pack, new you!” Jisung nods in agreement, turning to his brother at the stove. “Taeyongieeee” Jisung starts, hitting the red haired vampire with his best puppy dog eyes. 

Taeyong doesn’t even turn around from the stove. “Yes you can go, but only if Johnny and Ten agree. And since they will because they’re both big softies, your credit card is in your suitcase in your room.” The two youngest boys cheer, running upstairs to grab Jisung’s wallet. 

“That boy has a credit card?” Johnny asks in amazement. 

“We take care of our own needs from the age of thirteen.” Taeyong finishes making all of the pancakes, putting them on a tray in the oven to stay warm for when the other pack members wake up. “My father put money into his account, but Jisung had to buy everything he needs by himself, besides housing. Clothes, food, electronics, toiletries, private school, Jisung managed all of his own money. Since Chin Hwa is dead, and Irene built herself quite the money empire over the years, we get his money. We’re leaving the properties to the clan though, because it’s their homes, and Irene and I are meeting up tomorrow to sign the deed over.” 

“I get my dad’s money.” Ten pipes up, “Even though I’m technically ‘dead,’ I got a text from a clan member that Somchai never changed his will and I’m still the sole inheritor.” 

Doyoung gasps in amazement. “Tell me again why eighty percent of this pack is stupid rich, and yet we all live in the same house?” 

“Aww hyung you would miss us too much.” Chenle teases, coming up from behind and giving Doyoung a backhug. The werebunny scoffs but pats Chenle’s arms. 

“Ready to go kids?” Johnny asks, grabbing his own wallet and keys. 

“Yes!” Jisung, Chenle, and Ten all cheer, going to the door and putting their shoes on. 

As they walk out the door, Taeyong calls after them “Just don’t dye your hair anything dumb, like blue or purple!”

All Doyoung hears in response is the excited gasps of two teenage boys yelling “ _ Blue and purple! Perfect! _ ”

Taeyong sighs as Hansol and Yuta wander into the kitchen, eyes lighting up at the sight of the food piled high. Hansol grabs a couple of plates while Yuta fills up cups with juice, both of them sitting down on the opposite side the island from Doyoung to eat. Jaehyun walks in next, yawning and running a hand through his messy bedhead.

“Morning.” He mumbles, voice rough from sleep. Grabbing a plate, Jaehyun sits next to Doyoung across from the werewolf-kitsune couple. Everyone nods hello to a chipper Donghyuck who enters next, leading a very drowsy Mark by the hand. Donghyuck lets go of Mark’s hand to get food and Doyoung watches in amusement as Mark proceeds to tug on the back of his boyfriend’s shirt whining “Hyuckieee.” The witch rolls his eyes, smiling slightly as he hands Mark his plate. Grabbing on to the older boy’s elbow, Donghyuck leads him into the dining room muttering “C’mon you big baby.” As the they settle down, Donghyuck starts to cut up Mark’s pancakes, feeding small pieces to the werewolf as Mark gazes at him in sleepy adoration. Jaehyun chuckles from next to Doyoung.

“He acts like he hasn’t been almost surgically attached to Mark’s side since he was seven.”

Hansol smiles, “Remember when Hyuck was eight and Johnny and Mark took a trip up to Canada and Hyuck cried for the entire week?”

“I’m pretty sure Mark cried for that week too.” Jaehyun adds. “Johnny video called me on the computer and there was faint sobbing noises in the background.” 

“Why again did it take so long for them to get together?” Doyoung jokes, Yuta replying “They’re both just so oblivious.” The group gathered around the table laughs, gently making fun of their young pack members before returning back to their food. 

“Yong, how are you so good at cooking when vampires technically don’t even need to eat?” Hansol mumbles around a mouthful of pancake. 

Taeyong smiles at the compliment. “After around 200 years of living you find ways to entertain yourself.” The kitchen grows silent again. 

“This feels weird.” Yuta suddenly pipes up. 

Doyoung nods, uncomfortable. “It’s like we don’t have a purpose anymore.” 

Shaking his head from his place next to Taeyong, Taeil interjects “You think this is weird? Chin Hwa has been the bane of my existence from the moment I met him 600 years ago. Now that I can finally fully enjoy my life with my mate, worry-free, I have no idea how to do it.” 

Pulling out his phone to text his old boss, Doyoung adds, “I guess we can go back to work? Continue on like normal?” 

“What other choice do we have?” Jaehyun eats another piece of pancake, scrubbing the tired out of his eyes. Looking at his boss’s reply, the were-bunny sighs. 

“The cops are coming around more often to check I.D.s of the employees.” 

“Is that a problem?” Taeyong inquires. 

“Yeah. I don’t have any papers. I was hired illegally.” Hesitating, Doyoung adds, “You don’t really have time to grab your birth certificate when you’re running for your life.”

Hansol pauses eating, “Are you sure the witches have it?” 

“They kept the house heavily guarded from human eyes, but just in case someone stumbled across it, the coven made sure to have my papers so they could say I was someone’s son, not slave.”

“We can have someone forge you some papers,” Taeil offers, Taeyong adding “We need to get our papers re-done every ten years because we eternally look between the ages of twenty to thirty.”  

“That would be nice but...” Doyoung stops, feeling dumb.

“What?” Jaehyun gently prods.

“I kind of want to know when my birthday is.”

The kitchen grows silent again, everyone stopping to look at the were-bunny. 

“You don’t know your own birthday?” Jaehyun softly asks, laying a hand on Doyoung’s arm. 

Doyoung blushes, shifting in his seat. “I think it’s around wintertime cause I remember it snowing one time when my mom brought me a present, but honestly I could’ve gotten it mixed up with Christmas so I don’t really know.” Doyoung shrugs, “I mean it’s not that big of a deal we can just get one forged, that would be a lot easier.”

“No!” Jaehyun protests, sitting upright. “The woods where we found you are only around five hours away, and you couldn’t have run that far, we can just go this weekend, confront the witches, get your papers, and boom!”

“And your real papers would make it easier for you to get a GED and go to college.” Yuta adds, stopping Doyoung when he starts to protest. “I know you really want to go, I can tell when you help the boys with their work.”

“Actually, about the drive being short…” Doyoung pauses. “The witches often used portals to travel around and get the things they needed for potions and rituals. I used a portal to escape.”

Hansol raises an eyebrow. “So where exactly are these witches?” 

“An hour outside of Seattle, Washington.” 

Jaehyun sighs, pulling out his phone. “I guess we’re taking a three day road trip.”  

“You’ll need help if you’re going up against an entire clan of witches.” Taeyong leans forward, looking over Jaehyun’s shoulder at the map on his phone. “Taeil and I got a caravan last year, before everything really went to shit, just in case we wanted to take a trip together, so we can use it.” 

A more awake Mark wanders into the kitchen, putting his and Donghyuck’s plates in the sink. Noticing the conversation, Mark interjects “I want to go.” 

“Me too! It’s summer, we don’t have school!” Donghyuck yells from the dining room.

“Wait, wait-” Doyoung tries to break in.

“As long as they’re ok with it, I am. And I’m sure Johnny would like to know beforehand. He is your brother. ” Hansol affirms. 

“Guys-” Doyoung tries again. 

Taeil slides off of his stool, joining Jaehyun and his mate at the island. “Shh Youngie, we’re planning a trip. Roads will be less crowded throughout the week, but we’ll have to make sure we’re not driving through cities during rush hour. That would be hell.”

“Ok so if we leave on Monday- I’m sure I can get work off, they love me at the mechanic’s shop- we can make it back by the next Monday and-”

“GUYS!” Doyoung yells, standing up. Conversation stops, all eyes on him. The broad shouldered man runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. “It’s really not that big of a deal and it’s clearly more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Hyung, it’s not too much trouble if it’s for you.” Mark murmurs from his place at the sink. 

“You’re important to us,” Jaehyun reassures, “your birthday, your past, it’s a part of you.” 

“Everyone should either know their birthday or choose a birthday.” Taeyong muses. “It allows you to reflect on your past and how far you’ve come.” 

Taeil nods, “I’m 700 years old and I still know my birthday. I chose it.” He smiles over at his mate. “It’s the day I met Taeyong.”

The to men smile at each other while Yuta frowns from the side. “Weren’t you like, a hundred years old, while Taeyong was only a year old?”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t even attracted to him until I was 75 and we didn’t start a relationship until I was one hundred years old myself.”

Doyoung sputters, unsure of what to say.

“Don’t say anything.” Jaehyun smiles, dimples deepening. “Just get your things ready. We leave in two days!” Mark and Donghyuck start to cheer, Taeyong and Taeil smiling and joining in. 

“ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP!” 

 


	13. Chapter 11

Doyoung, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Taeil, Mark, and Donghyuck spent the rest of the afternoon planning for their trip to Seattle. Moving to the dining table, they spread out texts on witches, exploring their strengths and weaknesses. Other members of the pack wandered in and out of the room, grabbing food and offering insights. 

“You need to be very careful.” Kun cautioned. “These witches are incredibly strong. None of us have the ability for  _ portal magic, _ although with some more training I’m sure Donghyuck could get there.”

“Remember, they have a clairvoyant, so they’ll see us coming.” Taeil adds.

“And they’re ruthless.” Doyoung reminds. “They’ll stop at nothing to get what they want.”  

When Johnny, Ten, Chenle, and Jisung come home late in the afternoon with arms full of bags, the older two sit at the table to help the operation while the young witch and vampire run off to show Lucas, Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin their newly dyed purple and blue hair. Johnny’s initial worry about his younger brother and brother’s boyfriend going up against a powerful coven is dissuaded by Taeil and Taeyong’s reassurances that the two boys will be protected at all costs. Filling Ten and Johnny in on what he’s already told the rest of the group, Doyoung starts to describe the coven that kept him as a slave for fourteen years.

“They’ve got a portal-maker, a clairvoyant, a couple of healers, three moon witches, an earth witch, and a necromancer.” As Doyoung goes on to detail what they look like, Ten grows quieter and quieter, face darkening. Feeling this, his mate rubs his arm gently, asking about the change in mood. 

“I think those are the witches that broke our bond.” 

Johnny shudders slightly, pulling the vampire closer while Mark frowns in thought. “If Somchai already knew the coven, why didn’t they fight?”

Doyoung snorts. “They don’t care about anything but themselves and their experiments.” 

“All the more reason to be careful.” Jaehyun responds grimly. 

“We do have a huge advantage though. For the coven, it’s self-preservation above everything. So at their core, they really don’t work well together. As we’ve seen, the NCT pack works very well together. So I’m actually not too concerned. If we have a goal, we can achieve it. Just as long as we’ve got each other.” 

“Wow Doyoung good thing Jaemin isn’t in here cause that was way too CHEESY.”

“You literally fed your boyfriend pancakes this morning shut up Donghyuck.”

Taeyong sighs, getting up and starting towards the kitchen. “Enough with the planning talk. It’s dinner time and I know Lucas and Jaehyun are hungry.”

As dinner is prepared and NCT sits down to eat, Doyoung is thankful for the mindless chatter around him. Laughing with Sicheng over a story about failed potion that singed Kun’s eyebrows off successfully distracts him from what’s going to happen in less than two days, but laying in bed that night Doyoung’s thoughts can’t help but turn dark. Getting into bed with Jaehyun had been as awkward as expected, but that had dissipated when Jaehyun tripped over his own clothes on the floor and fell face-first into the sheets. Doyoung laughed harder than the situation required, but Jaehyun took the teasing good-naturedly, rolling to his back and grinning up at the giggling were-bunny. As the werewolf scooted to his side of the bed and tucked himself under the covers, Doyoung slid into his half of the bed, turning off the lamp and plunging the room into darkness. The only thing that Doyoung can hear is the crickets chirping outside and the quiet breathing of the man next to him. Sighing, Doyoung shifts to his side to stare out the window. Moonlight gently shines through, uninterrupted by the streetlights confined to outside the neighborhood. Doyoung closes his eyes, wanting not to move and disturb Jaehyun, but not yet comfortable enough to fall asleep. Opening his eyes again, Doyoung thinks  _ fuck it _ and slowly gets out of bed, moving towards the window. There’s no reaction from Jaehyun, so the were-bunny breathes a sigh of relief, seating himself on the windowsill. As Doyoung looks over the backyard, he leans closer to the window, entranced by the way the moonlight illuminates the grass, giving it a silver glow. Cold glass meets Doyoung’s forehead as he leans even more, chilling him to the bone, but he can’t find it in himself to care, focusing on a single beam of light. His right hand presses to the window, left moving to unlatch the lock when

_ BAM _

Doyoung’s eyes snap open as he jerks up, pain running through his still-healing shoulder. 

“Doyoung-hyung?” a soft voice calls out, Jaehyun peering over the edge of the bed. Shaggy fringe hangs into puffy, sleepy eyes as he gazes down at the were-bunny.

“What are you doing on the floor?”

“I-I, uhm. I think I had a nightmare?”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jaehyun blinks rapidly, sliding over and looking more awake as Doyoung crawls back into the bed. 

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Jaehyun sits patiently, waiting for Doyoung to start talking. 

“Actually Jae, can we go for a walk?” 

Jaehyun nods and both men get out of bed, Jaehyun trading pj pants for black sweatpants and a grey hoodie, while Doyoung keeps his pale pink t-shirt on but opts for a soft pair of maroon pants. Heading downstairs and slipping out the front door, the pair ambles out of the neighborhood, walking deeper into the city. The night comes to life around them, Doyoung flinching as a car races past. As they walk in silence, listening to the noises of the city around them, Doyoung looks to the same place he always finds himself drawn to. Up to the sky. Doyoung examines the inky black, pinpricks of powerful stars outshined by the much closer artificial lights. 

“It was one of those dreams where you think you’re awake.” Doyoung starts, not looking over at his companion. Jaehyun keeps silent, letting Doyoung go at his own pace.“I closed my eyes for a moment in the real world, and reopened them in a dream world that was an exact copy of our own. I was in our room, in bed, looking at the window. The moonlight was so bright I couldn’t help myself. I had to go to the window to look at it. I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to be closer, to actually touch the light. But the window was stopping me. As I reached to unlatch the window, a face appeared in front of me.” Doyoung stops for a moment, looking down at the sidewalk underneath his feet. Looking back up at Jaehyun, he frowns, eyebrows drawing together. “He- he laughed at me. Just like he used to.” 

“Like he used to?” Jaehyun finally asks, so softly his voice can barely be heard over the bustling city around him. Doyoung nods, his gaze dropping back down to his feet as he feels the tears well up in his eyes. 

“Yeah.” Doyoung whispers, a sob bubbling up his throat. He finally lets it out, shoulders shaking as Jaehyun pulls him into a hug. Grabbing onto the soft folds of the sweatshirt, Doyoung clings to the other man, muffling his cries into the collar of the hoodie. Jaehyun rubs Doyoung’s back, arms wrapped tightly around him. 

“You’re so strong Doyoungie.” Jaehyun murmurs, “So much stronger than they can even imagine. They broke you, but you took those pieces and made something incredible. We’re going to get through this. Together. You, me, Taeyong, Taeil, Mark, and Donghyuck, with the rest of the pack standing behind us. They’ve got nine members, but we’ve got the power of nineteen.” The pair falls into silence as Jaehyun continues to comforts Doyoung, allowing the were-bunny to cry his heart out. Eventually Doyoung pulls back, scrubbing his eyes and turning away. 

“Sorry,” Doyoung mutters, sniffing a bit. 

“Don’t apologize,” Jaehyun takes Doyoung’s hand, pulling him back to face the werewolf. Doyoung nods, looking down at their entwined hands. 

“Thank you.” 

The two men walk back to the house, hands swinging between them. As they reach the front door, Jaehyun stops and turns to Doyoung. 

“You sure you’re ok?” 

Doyoung smiles and nudges Jaehyun with their hands. “I will be.”

Jaehyun nods, opening the door and leading them upstairs. As they change and crawl back into bed, Doyoung lays on his back, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Whatcha thinkin bout?” Jaehyun looks over at Doyoung, laying on his stomach, pressing his cheek into the pillow. 

“When I was little I had those glowy stars on my ceiling.”

“Nice,” Jaehyun yawns, tucking his hands under his pillow. “We can get some when we get back from the trip.”

“No, no,” Doyoung protests, turning to his side and looking at the man next to him. “I was just thinking, I don’t actually want any.” 

“It’s ok hyung, I think they would be nice,” Jaehyun mumbles, scooting closer to Doyoung and throwing an arm over his waist. 

“Jae, what are you-”

The werewolf smiles, pulling close and nuzzling his face into Doyoung’s chest. “Go to sleep hyung, I’ll protect you from the nightmares.”

Doyoung rests his chin on top of Jaehyun’s head, running his fingers through the brunette strands. “Ok Jaehyun, ok.”

 

The next morning Doyoung wakes to a weight on his chest. Opening his eyes and looking down, Doyoung realizes Jaehyun had managed to sprawl entirely on top of him, head still resting under his chin. The black-haired man rolls his eyes, shoving the broad werewolf off of him. Jaehyun tips onto his back, smiling lazily over at Doyoung. 

“Morning hyung.” 

“Morning. I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast.” Doyoung grabs some clothes from the closet and turns to leave, stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist.

“Wait, Doyoung.”

Raising an eyebrow, Doyoung replies “yes?”

Jaehyun looks away sheepishly, smiling a little. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes Jaehyun, I slept very well.”

“Good,” Jaehyun sighs, letting go and stretching out across the bed. Doyoung chuckles, shaking his head and walking to the bathroom. Treading down the steps, Doyoung enters the kitchen to a sight he’s become very accustomed to. Taeyong cooking, Taeil sitting by his side and looking at his mate as if he holds the world in his hands. Yuta and Hansol sit at the island, sipping juice and chatting. Turning towards the newcomer, Hansol starts to count off the members on his fingers. 

“Johnny and Mark are at church, Ten and Hyuck decided to tag along. Chenle and Jisung are asleep, they stayed up too late last night playing video games. Kun and Cheng went out for a day date. Lucas, Woo, Injun, Jeno, and Jaemin are in the living room watching cartoons.” 

Doyoung nods, his inner mom satisfied at knowing each member’s whereabouts. Grabbing a plate of food Doyoung sets it down at the dining room table, heading into the living room to get the witch lore books from the bookshelves. Doyoung spreads them out across the table, looking at the powers specific to the members he knows are in the coven. Leaning closer to the book detailing the powers of a necromancer, Doyoung doesn’t notice the entrance of a tall dimpled brunette. 

“Hey that’s cool,” Doyoung hears, looking to see Jaehyun reading over his shoulder. Doyoung merely humms, turning back to the book while Jaehyun takes a seat and starts to eat. Grabbing the book on moon witches, Jaehyun starts reading where he left off last night. “I assume your visitor last night was a moon witch?”

“Yep.” 

“Visitor?” Doyoung and Jaehyun look up to see Hansol standing in the doorway.

“I had a dream caused by one of the witches in the coven,” Doyoung replies, telling Hansol what he told Jaehyun the night before. 

“That’s scary,” Taeyong frowns, scooting past Hansol and sitting at the table. Taeil appears next to Hansol, drying his hands from washing the dishes. 

“So they definitely know we’re coming.” 

Doyoung nods at the small dark haired man. “We can’t afford not to be prepared.”

“The churchgoers should be back soon, so once they get here we should be able to really dive in deep,” Hansol says, sitting at the table with Yuta and Taeil following him. Everyone at the table silently returns to the books, the only noise being the turning of pages and the scratch of pencil on notebook paper. Doyoung looks up from writing down an earth witch’s weaknesses as the noise of Johnny, Mark, Ten and Donghyuck returning home fills the first level. The quartet walks into the dining room, quieting down as they look at the scene in front of them. 

“Right,” Donghyuck sighs, “Back to work.”

The four turns and heads upstairs to change and grab their notebooks, returning and sitting down at the table. There’s a rustle at the entryway as Jeno appears, holding onto the doorframe and looking unsure. 

“I want to help too.”

Doyoung smiles at the boy, motioning him into the seat next to Doyoung. “Thanks Nono.” Turning back to the group, Doyoung continues. “I guess I should tell you more about the coven.

“The leader is the clairvoyant, Seongwan. Because of his powers he basically just tells everyone else what to do to get the best results from the experiments. What plants they need, what designs to draw, what spells to use. He can see an infinite amount of possibilities and pick out the best outcome.”

Johnny leans back in his seat. “That would drive me absolutely insane.”

“Oh, it has. The drugs he takes to enhance his powers certainly don’t help. His mate is Chunja, the moon witch with the portal making abilities. They’re both equally demented. She can teleport short distances, and she’s a kick-ass fighter, so we’ll have to watch each others backs even more diligently.  The other moon witches are their set of triplets, Joonho and Hyunwoo are boys and Sooji is a girl. Joonho is a dreamwalker, so Hyuck you’ll probably have to give us some herbs to ensure we’ll be well-rested and undisturbed. Hyunwoo messes with energies, and Sooji uses shadows and tricks of the light. Jihye and Yejun are their girl and boy healers. We’ve always been told that healers can take away pain, but actually their powers lie in pain in general. Not only can they take away, but they can also intensify the pain. Sunyoung is the necromancer, but since raising people takes an incredible amount of energy and time, the most she’ll be doing is raising animals. Be careful though, those animals will eat through anything and everything without rest. Lastly is Jinho, the earth witch. He has powers over plants and can make them grow in a moment.” Doyoung sits back, the other members frantically scratching notes down. 

“So what I’m hearing is that we’re going to have to brew a ton of protection potions,” Donghyuck sighs, looking up. Doyoung nods and the witch gets up to call Kun, Jungwoo, Jaemin, and Chenle for help. Kun and Chenle decide to go to Taeyong and Taeil’s house right away to cast protection spells over the camper and camping gear, preparing it for the next week. The other witches set up their cauldrons and magical chemistry sets in the living room, opening up their tomes and starting their rituals. 

“Alright everyone, seperate into groups and study a type of witch. We’ll cover more bases that way,” Hansol commands. Taeyong and Taeil decide to study the necromancer and the earth witch, while Johnny and Ten take the portal witch and the clairvoyant. Hansol and Yuta study the healers and Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Jeno study the moon witches. Mark is tasked with running information that would aid their own group of witches in making their potions. The dinner table lights up with energy, pack members chatting within their own groups or passing pertinent information to other groups. Sicheng, Lucas, Renjun, and Jisung join in, being the only ones that didn’t already have a job. Sicheng decides to help Hansol and Yuta, Lucas helps Johnny and Ten, Renjun runs with Mark, and Jisung joins his brother and Taeil. The pack works deep in the night, stopping only to order pizza before continuing their studies. At 10:00 Kun and Chenle come back to the house, sending Chenle and Jisung to bed. At 11:00 Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun all go to bed too, but Haechan refuses, citing that he’s actually going on the trip, so he needs to be there for every part of the process. Mark eventually convinces him to go to bed, other members trickling off until it’s 1:00 am and only Doyoung, Jaehyun, Kun, and Hansol are left awake. Doyoung leans onto Jaehyun’s side, eyes heavy but fighting to stay awake and read the end of the book. 

“You two need to go to bed.” Hansol commands from across the table, eyebrows drawn together in concern. Doyoung protests, sitting upright and shaking his head slightly. 

“C’mon Doyoung,” Jaehyun gently prods, “We’re leaving at 8 to go to Taeyong’s to get their camper. You need a bit of sleep.”

Doyoung sighs, slumping in his seat. “Alright.”

On their way to the stairs, Doyoung and Jaehyun pass the living room. “Don’t stay up too late,” Jaehyun warns the still-awake Kun, stirring a small cauldron. 

“Don’t worry,” Kun smiles, “Once this is done I’ll go to bed.” As Doyoung and Jaehyun turn away, Kun calls out, “Wait!” Walking over and handing Doyoung a small vial of green liquid, Kun says “This should help you get through the night without anyone unwanted showing up. Chenle and I will come with you guys tomorrow morning to perform the final protection incantations over your camper and gear.”

Doyoung nods, knocking back the potion as Jaehyun leads him upstairs. The men brush their teeth and change, collapsing into bed with a sigh. Jaehyun turns to his stomach, throwing an arm over Doyoung’s waist again. 

“Sweet dreams Doie.”

“Sweet dreams Jae.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seongwan and Sooji are the names of a couple high school classmates of mine lolllll. We were actually all really good friends so no shade at all to those two amazing people! The names of the coven are completely random, straight from Wikipedia, so if there's a kpop star with the same name, it's completely on accident.


	14. Chapter 12

“Wake up. Doyoung, wake up!”

As Jaehyun shakes Doyoung awake, the were-bunny opens his eyes with a start, pushing the hand away and jerking off the bed. The moment his feet hit the floor Doyoung whirls to face Jaehyun, fists clenched and slightly raised. Eyes wide, Doyoung’s shoulders shake as gasps shudder through his body. Jaehyun is frozen on the other side of the bed, placicating hands raised in front of him. 

“Doyoung?”

Doyoung’s breathing slows as he looks around the room, processing his surroundings.  _ They’re not here, I’m ok _ Doyoung reminds himself, lowering his fists. Sighing, he slumps onto the bed, running a hand over his face.

“I’m sorry Jae, I didn’t mean to freak out on you.”

“No, no it’s ok.” Jaehyun sits next to Doyoung, adding “May I ask why?”

It just- I’m a bit on edge because of what we’re about to do.” Doyoung straightens up, looking over at the clock on the bedside table.  _ 5:30 am. Way too early to be having mental breakdowns _ Doyoung chides himself, standing and heading to the wardrobe. “And they used to wake me up by shaking me in the middle of the night.” Without looking back at Jaehyun, Doyoung grabs his suitcase, throwing clothes into it. “Alright get packing Jae, we leave in half an hour.” Hearing a rustle behind him, Doyoung is surprised to feel arms wrapping around his waist as Jaehyun hooks his chin over the were-bunny’s shoulder. He squeezes tight once before letting go, walking to the bathroom and reminding Doyoung “Don’t forget your knife sheaths.”

Doyoung shakes his head, ducking his chin down to hide his smile as he grabs Jaehyun’s suitcase. As he packs for the werewolf, Jaehun re-enters the room, tossing Doyoung two small bags filled with their toiletries. Catching them, Doyoung puts the bags into their respective suitcases, zipping them up and standing. Wheeling over to Jaehyun the wolf takes his suitcase, both men heading downstairs for breakfast. This morning, both Taeyong and Kun are making breakfast, Kun slipping protection potions into the muffins. Looking around Doyoung sees that Mark and Donghyuck have yet to come down, meaning Johnny gave in to their puppy dog eyes when he went to wake them up. Hansol and Yuta stand to one side of the kitchen with Chenle, eating some unspelled muffins. 

“I packed up your books and all of our notes,” Yuta mumbles around his mouthful, motioning to the bag next to him. Doyoung nods in thanks, grabbing some food for himself. Mark and Donghyuck finally walk into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing their eyes. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Taeyong packs food into tupperware for the younger pair to eat on the road. Everyone heads out to the car, the rest of the pack coming downstairs to see them off. Johnny and Ten pull Mark and Donghyuck into tight hugs while Taeyong and Taeil squish Jisung in between them. NCT circles around, pulling closer until the six leavers are pushed to the center, surrounded by the rest of the pack. Jaemin ducks under Jaehyun’s arm and Renjun grabs Doyoung while Jeno slides in the middle, hugging them both. 

“Come back safe, hyungs,” Jeno murmurs, resting his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder. 

“Of course,” Doyoung smiles, ruffing the boy’s hair. The rest of the pack detaches, letting the crew of six plus Kun and Chenle pile into the van. As Kun drives away, the pack stands on the front yard waving madly. 

The last thing Doyoung sees is Lucas, head sticking out above the crowd, yelling out “See you soon!” 

It’s a mere 15 minutes before they’re pulling up to the gate in front of Taeyong and Taeil’s house. All Doyoung can see is a driveway leading back into the woods, house hidden by the stretch of trees. Kun punches in the code, driving forward as the gate creaks open. The van rumbles along the gravel driveway for another minute before the trees open up to a clearing housing a one story cottage encircled by the driveway, a larger gray building behind the cottage. As Kun pulls around the cottage to the back, Doyoung realizes the large structure is actually a garage. Taeyong and Taeil slide out of the van as it pulls to a stop, walking to the garage and Taeyong punching in the code. Everyone else also gets out as the door rumbles up, revealing an expanse of luxury cars, all shining and in prime condition. Taeil grins sheepishly as he turns back to wide eyes and open jaws. 

“I like to drive.” 

Taeil and Taeyong duck into the garage, heading towards the middle and climbing into a large black caravan. The car rumbles to life and pulls out of the spot, rolling out to the front of the garage. Jaehyun quietly gasps from his spot next to Doyoung, eyes growing even wider. 

“I knew you guys were  _ rich _ but I didn’t know you were  _ Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4×4  _ rich!”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes over at the tall werewolf.  “Jaehyun, we were all raised Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4×4 rich.”

“Yeah but we’re not  _ now _ .”

“Yes we are! Have you seen our house?”

“It’s  _ hyung _ to you, kiddo. And-”

“Ok!” Kun calls the attention him with a sharp clap. “Get your bags in the car and get on the road.” Everyone heads to the back and the vampire mates swing the doors open, revealing a storage area under a bed. The luggage is slid in and half of the bed is pushed up to make a seat back before everyone goes back to the side of the car to slide open the large door. Donghyuck climbs in first, an amazed gasp coming out of his mouth. Mark enters after Donghyuck, and then finally Doyoung steps into the van, eyes widening at the spacious area. There’s a small countertop sticking out directly in front of him, housing a sink, cooktop, and cabinets underneath. Across from Doyoung is a wall of cabinets and drawers, with a fridge and microwave. On the far left back end of the van is the couch that can be pushed down to make a bed, and as Doyoung looks up he notices a ladder attached to the ceiling and a pop-up area for another bed. 

“Call it!” Donghyuck yells, pulling the ladder down and climbing onto the bed. “C’mon Markie!” Mark sighs, foregoing the ladder entirely and stepping onto the countertop before pulling himself up next to Donghyuck. Taeyong gasps from behind Doyoung, pushing the were-rabbit aside to open a cabinet and grab cleaning spray and paper towels. As Taeyong frantically wipes down the countertop, Doyoung fully enters the van and sits down on the back couch, Jaehyun climbing through the door and settling down next to him. The countertop juts out past the cabinets underneath it, forming a sort of overhang where Doyoung puts his books and notes. Looking out the window, Doyoung can see Kun and Taeil chatting before Taeil gives a single nod, going around the the driver’s seat. As he opens the door and slides in, Kun sticks his head through the back passenger door opening. 

“The van’s all spelled up and protected! Good luck you guys!” Chenle enters the van, giving everyone a kiss on the cheek. 

“For good luck!” He proclaims, and feeling a slight tingle where the kiss was placed, Doyoung doesn’t doubt it. Taeyong seats himself up front with Taeil and the group sets off, Kun and Chenle growing smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. 

 

Two hours into the drive and Doyoung can already feel the headache coming on. It’s quiet in the car, Taeil focused on the road  and Taeyong reading, Mark and Donghyuck giggling from the upper bunk. Leaning back in his seat, Doyoung tilts his head up, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. 

“You alright?” Jaehyun murmurs, glancing up from his book with concern .

“Yeah, just a bit of a headache.” Doyoung sighs, dropping his hands into his lap and looking over at his seatmate. 

“We’ve been reading a lot lately, your eyes are probably strained.”

“True, but it’s necessary.” 

“Not if you’re so distracted by pain you can’t properly fight.” Jaehyun insists. 

“Alright, alright, I’ll take a break.” Doyoung chuckles, glancing at the book that Jaehyun is holding. “What are you reading about?”

“Moon witches.” Jaehyun tilts his book to show Doyoung the pages, inked words surrounded by sketches of herbs and plants. 

“This is pretty,” Doyoung’s fingers brush over the drawing of a five-pointed flower resembling a star. 

“That’s nightshade,” Jaehyun nods, “not so pretty when it’s killing you.”

Doyoung smiles. “Well, it’s specifically called  _ Solanum dulcamara _ , or the climbing nightshade. The actual genus is called  _ Solanum _ , and there’s about 2,300 species of flowering plants in the nightshade family. Tomatoes are even in the nightshade family. There’s only a few kinds of nightshade that are actually poisonous, like the Rosary Pea, Oleander, European Yew, Daffodil, Baneberry, Hemlock, Stinging Tree, Castor Bean, Angel's Trumpet, Monkshood, White Snakeroot, Larkspur, Foxglove, and  _ Melia azedarach _ , which goes by so many different names I just call it by its Latin one as to not confuse people.” Doyoung pauses, looking up from the page to focus on Jaehyun’s face. Finding himself almost nose-to-nose with the werewolf, Doyoung jerks back into his spot, having subconsciously scooted closer to gain a better look at the text. “Sorry,” Doyoung blushes, turning back to his own book, “I have a tendency to ramble.” Eyes wide, Jaehyun’s eyebrows knit together. 

“Don’t apologize Doyoung.” 

Doyoung nods, half-hearing the boy as he starts reading.

“Doyoung” Jaehyun places a hand on the black-haired man’s arm, pulling the attention back to him. “I thought it was really interesting. I kind of want to know more, to be honest.”

“Really?” Doyoung looks back at Jaehyun in surprise.

“Don’t I always?” 

Doyoung smiles, thinking back to all the times he would stop them in the middle of their walk home and throw out a random fact, or when the two would cook together, Doyoung lecturing Jaehyun on the nutritional value of each item of food. Each time Jaehyun would simply nod, occasionally throwing in a question or comment. 

“I guess so,” Doyoung finally concedes. “Well, hemlock is also known as devil's porridge, poison parsley, or beaver poison, and personally I think beaver poison would be a great name for an alcoholic drink. The baneberry is also known as doll’s eye because it’ small and white with a black dot in the center. Don’t actually use it for a doll’s eye though, it’ll probably kill your child. Angel’s trumpet is also used as a recreational drug, and Seongwan would use that to enhance his visions. You have to be very careful with the dosage though, or you’ll die. The only person he lets make his vision potion is his daughter, Sooji. The most interesting plant on this list is actually the monkshood plant. Did you know they used to use it as a werewolf detector?”

Doyoung looks up at Jaehyun, eye glimmering in excitement, and Jaehyun can’t help but smile. “I didn’t, actually. How did they use it?”

“They would hold the flower near the alleged wolf’s chin, and if a yellow-tinged shadow appeared, that was confirmation that the person was a werewolf. You shouldn’t touch it though. In 2015 a gardener died of multiple organ failure after brushing past this plant on the estate where he was working in the U.K.”

“Scary.”

“I know!”

The conversation continues like this for the next two hours, Doyoung bouncing around from topic to topic with Jaehyun’s encouragement. Eventually Mark and Donghyuck climb down and settle in between Jaehyun and Doyoung but Doyoung doesn’t mind, merely wrapping an arm around Donghyuck and answering Mark’s question about how the guitar came about. Taeyong even puts his book down, turning to join in when the topic of baking comes up. Having been interested in baking for the last 500 years, Taeyong is even more knowledgeable than Doyoung. 

“And imagine my disappointment when I found out that all the kids interested in baking merely wanted to get high!” He cries, causing Donghyuck to launch into a fit of giggles. The time passes quickly, and Doyoung looks at his watch to find that six hours have already passed. Feeling a bit fatigued from all of his talking, Doyoung rests his cheek on Donghyuck’s head. Jaehyun glances at Doyoung in concern, also looking at his watch. 

“It’s 1:00 guys, we better eat some lunch.” Jaehyun gets up from the couch, opening the freezer and pulling out a meal that Taeyong had prepared earlier in the week. Looking at the label Jaehyun asks, “Mac and cheese, anyone?” Donghyuck claps excitedly and Jaehyun puts it in the microwave, pulling out a couple of bags of blood from the fridge to also heat up for Taeyong and Taeil.

“Wait!” Donghyuck bounces up from the couch, pushing Jaehyun aside to open the microwave. He pulls himself up into the loft, rustling around before jumping back down with a spray bottle in hand. Pulling out the food Donghyuck quickly spritzes it before putting it back in and re-starting the microwave. When the timer beeps Jaehyun takes the food and portions it out onto plates. As everyone chows down, Doyoung can feel a tingle across his taste buds, and he’s pretty sure it’s not just because of Taeyong’s amazing cooking. 

“It’s another protection spell, “Donghyuck explains when Doyoung looks at him questioningly. “Sun witch spells are particularly potent against moon witches.” 

“Well, I kind of like it.” Mark mumbles around a mouthful of food. “It’s like soda mac and cheese.” 

“Soda mac and cheese? What does that even mean?”

“Don’t make fun of me Hyuck, it’s like the carbonation in soda! It makes my mouth kinda tingly!”

“Ok Mark.”

“You agree with me, you’re just being stubborn.”

“Sure.”

Doyoung smiles at Jaehyun as the two kids continue to bicker.  _ Will they ever stop? _ He mouths silently.  _ Nope _ Jaehyun grins. After lunch Donghyuck and Mark agree to do the dishes while Jaehyun and Doyoung choose a movie to watch. Before the crew knows it, they’ve gone through two movies and are eating dinner, watching as the sun sets outside. Taeil and Taeyong don’t need sleep as much as the others do, so they insist on driving through the night. After dinner Mark and Donghyuck retreat back up to their bunk, turning on a reading light while Mark pulls out his guitar to work on songwriting with Donghyuck. Doyoung and Jaehyun return to their notes, chatting about different ways to defeat the witches. It’s 11:00 when Doyoung decides to turn in for the night, changing into pj’s while Jaehyun sets up the bed. Climbing in the bed, Doyoung turns to his stomach, pressing his cheek against the pillow and closing his eyes. Feeling a dip in the bed and Jaehyun slides in next to him, Doyoung opens his eyes, finding himself nose-to-nose with the other man yet again. The brunette’s eyes squint up into a smile, dimples folding into his cheeks. 

“Goodnight Doyoung.”

“Goodnight Jaehyun.”

The light from the upstairs bunk turns off, Mark and Donghyuck rustling around and quietly chatting as they get comfortable. Doyoung shuts his eyes again, drowsiness slowly overtaking him.

It’s 30 minutes and Doyoung is still awake. He’s gone through every method he can think of: picturing a white blank wall, counting hundreds of sheep, and even a bit of meditation, but he just can’t manage to fall asleep. Huffing in frustration Doyoung rolls onto his back, looking up at the ceiling. He can tell from their breathing that Mark and Donghyuck fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow, and even Jaehyun slipped into slumber long ago. The car engine rumbles softly and Doyoung hears faint murmurs from the front as Taeil and Taeyong talk in between themselves, but Doyoung can’t bring himself to focus enough to actually listen to them. Knowing that the van is spell protected against anyone infiltrating his dreams, Doyoung rationalizes that it must be paranoia keeping him awake. The were-bunny slowly sits up, hoping not to disturb Jaehyun but still wanting to make use of this new insomnia. Doyoung tenses as Jaehyun shifts, unintelligibly muttering to himself before relaxing again. Pushing the covers off himself and moving to the end of the bed, Doyoung grabs a book. Hooking a reading light to it and clicking it on Doyoung blinks blurriness from his eyes as he focuses on the text. Doyoung has barely read a line before Jaehyun shifts again, sitting up with a yawn. 

“Doyoung?”

The were-bunny looks back, heart melting at the sight of Jaehyun rubbing his eyes, hair mussed up from the pillow.

“What’s wrong Jae?” Doyoung softly asks, putting his book down.

“I reached for you and you weren’t there.” Jaehyun pouts, frowning at Doyoung.

“Sorry Hyunnie, I couldn’t sleep so I wanted to do some reading.”

“That’s not healthy.” Jaehyun grumbles, crossing his arms and shivering slightly in his thin t-shirt. “Come back to bed.” 

“Ok Jae.” Doyoung chuckles, closing his notebook and placing it on top of the tome of witch lore. Jaehyun scoots to the side as Doyoung snuggles back under the covers, refusing to lay back down until the were-bunny confirms he’s absolutely comfortable. 

“You sure you’re gonna sleep now?”

“Yes Jae, I will go to sleep.”

Satisfied with this answer, Jaehyun sinks down next to Doyoung, pulling the thin man into his arms. This time Doyoung’s cheek is pressed against Jaehyun’s chest, Jaehyun resting his chin on top of Doyoung’s head. 

“Goodnight again,” Jaehyun’s voices rumbles through his chest against Doyoung’s cheek.

“Goodnight,” Doyoung whispers, drifting asleep to the feeling of Jaehyun’s chest rise and fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um does Simon Says have anyone else absolutely DEAD?! It’s so amazing I was trying to explain it to my cousin and I was left SPEECHLESS  
> I wrote a really cute 2tae one shot cause they’re so underrated: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16551377  
> I’m also currently writing a dojae au on my twitter, so please check that out!: https://mobile.twitter.com/things_nct/status/1064298975128420358  
> If the link doesn’t work for some reason it’s under my pinned tweet!


	15. Chapter 13

Doyoung awoke with a yawn, rubbing his cheek against the soft fabric of Jaehyun’s shirt. Stretching his arms out, Doyoung braced his hands against the walls of the car, tensing for a moment before relaxing back onto Jaehyun’s chest. The other man rolled his shoulders, yawning drowsily and bringing a hand up to brush along Doyoung’s spine.

“Morning,” Jaehyun mumbled, eyes still closed. Doyoung merely hummed in reply, snuggling closer into the blankets.

“Moooorning!” A nasally voice broke the peace as Donghyuck jumped onto the bed, wrapping his arms around the two other men and planting a sloppy kiss on Doyoung’s cheek. Shoving Donghyuck off with a groan, Doyoung sits up, rubbing his eyes blearily. As his vision clears Mark swims into view, perched on the edge of the bed, smiling quietly as he gazes at Donghyuck.

“Aww so cute!” Doyoung cooes, reaching forward and tugging on Mark’s ear. Snapping his gaze back to Doyoung, Mark blushes and pulls away, standing and leaning against the countertop.

“I want breakfast!” Donghyuck whines, shoving his face into Jaehyun’s chest. Taeyong sighs from the passenger seat, looking back to the scene behind him.  

“Alright, alright,” He mumbles, climbing from the passenger seat into the back and grabbing ingredients for omelettes. “Just give me a couple minutes.”

While Donghyuck continues to bother Jaehyun, Doyoung gets out of bed, tugging the sheets off of the pair.

“Get up,” He commands, “we need to put the couch back together.”

Grumbling, Donghyuck retreats back to his bunk, pulling Mark up behind him to allow space for the three adults to move about the lower level. Finishing up the omelettes, Taeyong hands them out, grabbing blood bags for himself and Taeil. As the vampire returns to the front, Donghyuck and Mark jump back down, crowding onto the couch with Jaehyun and Doyoung. Pausing his mad gobbling of his food, Donghyuck turns to the were-rabbit beside him.

“Hey Doyoung?”

“Yes?”

“Why are there only were-wolves and were-bunnies? Why not were-anything else?”

Doyoung sighs, setting his plate on the counter in front of him.

“Because werewolves are the jocks of the supernatural world and don’t know when to keep their mouth shut.”

“I resent that.”

“Jaehyun you know it’s true. So, a long time ago, right before the Great Rebellion, a witch decided to go into the woods to gather some herbs. She was there, minding her own business, when some wolves happened along. Seeing her as an easy target, the wolves started acting like assholes, tripping her and throwing her basket, making fun of her, saying she was weak, and pathetic. If I remember the story correctly, what they said to her was ‘you’re so weak you’re like a little bunny.’ To which she replied ‘fuck you’ and cursed them and their entire pack, turning them into bunnies.”

“Exact wordage right there kids, ‘fuck you.’”

“And so, with the Great Rebellion causing all of the supernaturals to go into hiding, the were-bunny population was allowed to flourish, unbothered by both humans and other supernatural creatures. When the hidden communities started contacting each other, they found out about were-rabbits. Somehow, there was a consensus that we missed out on that decided that were-bunnies are inferior because they are a ‘bastardization’ of werewolves and a ‘shame to the supernatural community.’ Funny how that works.”

Donghyuck looks sadly up at Doyoung, leaning into his side.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, kid.” Running his fingers through the fluffy brown hair Doyoung smiles at the witch. “We bunnies have made do with our lot in life. We’re a lot tougher than people think.”

“I’ve always thought you were tough,” Mark insists. “Look at where you’ve come from! What you’ve been through! I don’t think I could go through something like that and come out as well as you did.”

“It’s not over yet.” Doyoung reminds him, standing and gathering the breakfast dishes. “Once we’re finished tomorrow, then that chapter of my life will finally close.”

“And we’ll be with you every step of the way,” Jaehyun smiles at Doyoung, and Doyoung gives a hesitant smile back.

 

The day passes quietly until mid-afternoon, when the van rumbles to a stop at a campground near the coven’s house. The pack piles out, stretching and breathing in the fresh air. Raising his arms in the air and turning side to side, Doyoung sees Mark rub Donghyuck’s sore back and the younger smile, pressing a quick peck to his cheek.

“Doyoung.”

Doyoung jumps a little as he turns, surprised by the sudden appearance of Jaehyun.

“Sorry. Do you want to go for a run?”

Nodding, Doyoung slips on his sneakers as Jaehyun changes into athletic clothes, the two men walking to where Taeyong and Taeil are inspecting a paper map of the grounds.

“The communal showers are over here, next to the lake, and there’s three walking trails and one biking trail,” Taeil murmurs, following the lines with his finger.

“Goldfinch Trail goes near the coven’s property, so I wouldn’t recommend it.” Doyoung taps on the map and Taeil nods, crossing it out with an X. “Also, there’s a secret path right around here that leads directly to the house, so we’ll need to find that tomorrow morning.” Circling the area, Taeil turns to Jaehyun and Doyoung, looking at their outfits.

“And where are you two going?”

“A run on the Marmot Trail,” Doyoung replies, pointing out the nearby entrance. “We’ll be back in an hour.”

“Alright. Be safe.”

The pair briefly stretches before setting out on the trail, jogging with evergreen trees on their left and the lake to their right. The forest is alive with noise, from the birds chirping in the trees to the wind rustling through the leaves to the thud of Doyoung and Jaehyun’s feet hitting the ground, breath pushing in and out of their lungs. The men are completely silent, enjoying the nature around them, basking in what they know is the calm before the storm. Even a downed tree in the middle of the path could not urge them to speak, Doyoung quickly figuring out a way over it and helping Jaehyun. Half an hour passes and the duo turns around, heading back the same way they came. Emerging from the trailhead, Doyoung sees that a fire has been started, a glimmering shield placed around it to prevent smoke from raising up into the air and altering the coven to their presence.

“Are you sure you should be magicing up shields?” Doyoung asks, flopping down next to Donghyuck while Jaehyun grab them some water. “You should preserve your energy.”

“Magic is like a muscle,” Donghyuck counters. “It needs to warmed up and stretched before the big event.”

“Like our run,” Jaehyun interjects, handing Doyoung his water before settling down.

Nodding, Donghyuck continues.

“A smoke shield is easy enough that it won’t drain me, but it does mean that my magic will be easier to call upon tomorrow.”

From across the fire Doyoung sees Mark pull out his guitar, strumming a few chords absentmindedly as Taeyong and Taeil prepare dinner. Perking up, Donghyuck runs back to the van, grabbing a few sheets of paper before coming back and handing them out.

“I brought along campfire songs!”

The group spends the rest of the night eating and singing, starting off with a dramatic rendition of “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, leading into a duet between Taeil and Donghyuck singing The Beatles’ “Let It Be” and continuing on through many songs until Doyoung and Jaehyun end with their favorite, “Africa” by Toto. With Mark too tired to even pick a note, Donghyuck douses the fire with a snap and they head back to the van, leaving the rest of the group cleaning up their area.

“Where are you two sleeping tonight?” Doyoung asks Taeyong, stacking the plates up.

“Outside,” Taeyong replies. “There’s an overhang that attaches to the van and we’ve got a tarp and some bedding.”

“I can sleep outside,” Doyoung offers and Jaehyun comes up, sling an arm around his shoulders.

“ _We_ can sleep outside.”

“Oh no, that’s not-”

“Please.” Doyoung interrupts, hoping the desperation isn’t too evident in his voice. “I would like to sleep outside.”

“A-alright,” Taeyong stutters, surprised. “I’ll get the bedding.”

As Taeil goes to pop up the overhang, Doyoung stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not going to rain tonight and I’d like to see the stars.”

Spreading the tarp over the ground, Jaehyun lays the pillows and blankets on top, he and Doyoung sliding under the blankets and settling in for the night. Rolling to his side, Jaehyun looks at Doyoung, frowning slightly.

“Are you ok? You’re acting kind of weird”

Sighing, Doyoung turns to face Jaehyun, shoving his hands under his pillow.

“I’m kind of claustrophobic.” Jaehyun blinks, encouraging Doyoung to continue.

“That’s why I couldn’t sleep last night. Having someone with me helps, but I sleep easier in a large area.”

Nodding with a hum, Jaehyun looks back up at the sky.

“That makes sense.”

“Well, goodnight Jaehyun.”

Smiling, Jaehyun tugs Doyoung close, throwing an arm over his waist.

“You can’t get out of nighttime cuddles, you know that, right?”

Chuckling, Doyoung obliges, sliding a knee in between Jaehyun’s. The other man quickly falls asleep, even breaths brushing against Doyoung’s cheek. Slowly, cautiously, Doyoung reaches above his head, searching in the grass. Finding a small, sharp rock he grabs it, pricking his thumb. Dropping a dot of blood onto the ground, Doyoung pulls his hand back, pressing at the wound to stop the bleeding before wrapping his arm around Jaehyun and falling asleep.

 

Doyoung wakes up alone, the campground bathed in moonlight. Sitting up from the grass he looks around, noting the disappearance of both the van and everyone he was with, no sign of them ever being there. Slowly climbing to his feet Doyoung walks towards the Marmot Trail, only accompanied by the sound of his own footsteps swishing through grass. Doyoung only walks a few feet down the trail before veering off to the right, down towards the lake. The lake is a glimmering reflection of the moon, so bright Doyoung can barely stand to look at it. Walking out onto a dock Doyoung kneels, looking down at the water. Pressing a cautious finger to the surface, the water ripples under his touch, sparkling waves spreading out in all directions. Doyoung stands again, taking a deep breath before diving into the light.

Doyoung is only blinded for a moment, the old familiar taste of metal filling his mouth, before he opens his eyes to a room, tastefully decorated yet precisely neat, not a single thread nor picture frame out of place. In a chair by the corner sits a small figure, shadowed from the silver light coming in from the window.

“What are you doing here?” The figure asks harshly, fingers tapping on the armrest. Doyoung takes a step closer, hands held out pleadingly.  

“Sooji, I need your help.”

Scoffing, Sooji leans back in her chair, crossing her arms.

“You must be stupider than I thought. I already helped you once. Why in the world would I help you again?”

“Because you hate those bastards just as much as I do.” Pausing, Doyoung adds, “And you’ve helped me a million times. Don’t discredit yourself.”

Sighing, Sooji stands from the chair, moving to her bed and into the light.

“I know what you’re here for. I’m not going to kill my own family. My own brothers.”

“They’ve treated you like shit you’re entire life. The only reason why your dad allows you to make his drugged-up tea is because he thinks you’re so cowardly you won’t have the courage to kill him.”

“He’s right. I don’t have the courage or I would have killed him a long time ago.”  
“And left the coven to who? Your twisted mother? Your insane brothers? No, not killing him was a smart idea. But now is the time. Tomorrow you won’t need to worry about the other members of your coven.”

As she looks up the light glints off of Sooji’s eyes, sharpening her gaze. Doyoung inwardly smiles, knowing he’s got her interested.

“And what exactly do you suggest I do?”

“Convince Seongwan that in his vision he saw us attacking later in the day. Mid-afternoon, evening.”

“He interprets his own visions. I can’t ‘tell’ him what he saw when he’s the only one seeing it.”

“You’re the only one in the room with him, correct?”

Sooji nods, and Doyoung continues.

“All you need to do is give Seongwan a different dose of tea in the morning. He won’t even taste a difference. Instead of giving him the angel’s trumpet, give him a small dose of LSD. He’ll start hallucinating and once he comes to, you’ll tell him that he was muttering about the time we would show up. We’ll take care of everything else.”

“You assume we just have LSD laying around the house?”

“Knowing your brothers, yes.”

Sighing, Sooji leans back onto the bed.

“And you’re sure this will work? Your little pack can defeat my coven?”

Thinking of ancient vampires, a powerful witch, and two very angry werewolves, Doyoung smiles.

“You’d be surprised at the kind of power I have on my side.”

Biting her lip, Sooji nods once, making her decision.

“I’ll do it. But if this goes south, you’re on your own.”

Relief washes through Doyoung and he almost collapses to the ground.

“Thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me.”

“I kind of do, actually.” Sooji chuckles. “I’ve known you almost my entire life. I’ve seen what they’ve-- we’ve done to you.” Sighing, Sooji rises from the bed. “You better get out before one of my brothers catches you.” As she places a hand on Doyoung’s forehead, a deep wave a fatigue runs through his body. The last thing he hears as his eyes close are “I’ll send you a signal when I’m finished.”

Gasping awake, Doyoung sits up, blanket sliding off his torso. Looking around, all Doyoung can see is the pitch black night. He frantically reaches for Jaehyun, patting around the sheet until he grabs onto the softness of Jaehyun’s arm. Gasping, Doyoung examines his surroundings, looking up at the pinpricks of stars in the sky and the sliver of a moon. Heart slowing to a normal pace, Doyoung slowly lays back down, pulling the blanket back over himself. Jaehyun had shifted in the night, his entire leg reaching across Doyoung’s, so Doyoung tugs the leg back, pulling Jaehyun towards him. Shifting, the werewolf mumbles in his sleep, hands weakly grasping at Doyoung’s shirt. Only when Doyoung has completely returned to their former position does he settle down, breathing returning to normal. As the crickets chirp around him, Doyoung allows his eyes to drift close again, lulled by Jaehyun’s surrounding warmth.

 

_Buzz. Buzz._

Doyoung twitches, slapping at the annoyance.

_Buzz. Buzz._

Groaning, Doyoung opens his eyes, looking around for the source of the noise. Finding himself suddenly blinded by the morning light, Doyoung closes his eyes again, throwing an arm over his eyes.

“Wakey wakey,” A deep voice sounds next to Doyoung’s ear, sending shivers down his spine. “C’mon Doyoung, wake up.”

Giving up at the idea of getting more sleep, Doyoung opens his eyes, greeted by the sight of a smiling Jaehyun leaning over him. Doyoung frowns in response, putting a hand over the offender's face and gently pushing him back. Chuckling, Jaehyun grabs Doyoung’s arm, tugging him up and planting a quick kiss on the wrist. Doyoung freezes, looking at Jaehyun in surprise. The other man quickly stands, turning to hide his face, but Doyoung can still see his flushed ears.Deciding that they would deal with that some other time, Doyoung also stands, straightening his clothes and grabbing his bag from the van.

“I’m gonna go take a shower.”

Jaehyun nods and Donghyuck offers to tag along, the two men heading off to the showers on the other side of the campground. After showering and changing into combat clothes, they head back to the van, Doyoung’s mouth watering at the smell of Taeyong’s cooking. As the group sits around the fire, they’re uncharacteristically quiet. Doyoung is busy running through every possible situation, every move that he can use against the witch coven, when Donghyuck finally pipes up.

“When are we going to fight?”

“I imagine noon,” Taeil responds, “the sun is at its peak and the moon witches will be weakened.”

“Actually, I have something to confess.”

The group looks at Doyoung in surprise, waiting for him to continue.

“I contacted one of the witches last night.”

Gasps rise up from several people, and Taeyong clenches his jaw in anger.

“Doyoung, what the hell? Why would you do that?”

“Cool it,” Jaehyun growls, “I’m sure he has a reason, just let him explain.”

“Sooji, one of the moon witch triplets, helped me escape a year and a half ago. I asked her if she could help me again.”

“And?” Taeil asks, eyes cold.

“And, she said yes.”

Jaehyun sighs in relief, but Taeyong and Taeil still aren’t convinced.

“How do you know we can trust her?”

“She saved my life! She’s the only reason why I survived fourteen years under the thumb of incredibly sadistic witches. She would bring me food and water and whatever I needed when the experiments were happening.”

“Why didn’t she let you go sooner?”

“She was only a child. She just turned nineteen a few weeks ago. Her family terrifies her, and she had no one else in the world to turn to. If she defied them, they would kill her.”

“And why would she help us now, if her family scares her so much?”

“She has friends outside the coven now, places she can go if she gets into trouble. A safety net. There’s nothing attaching her to the clan anymore besides blood, and she’s never put much stock in that.”

Sighing, Taeyong finally relaxes, placing a hand on Taeil’s arm.

“Alright, so she’s helping us. What exactly is she doing?”

“Poisoning her father. It’ll block him from seeing visions, and she’ll convince him that we’re attacking late in the day. We’ll have the element of surprise.” Doyoung bites the inside of his cheek nervously, almost making himself bleed before Taeil grunts, returning back to his blood soup.

“Good call, Doyoung. Using your available resources. That’ll certainly give us a leg up.”

Doyoung grins and Jaehyun grabs his hand, squeezing it excitedly. He’s about to say something when an owl hoots from overhead, pausing all conversation. Looking up into the trees, Mark frowns, placing his plate down and standing in front of Donghyuck.

“Owls are nocturnal. It should be asleep right now. And if it’s awake...”

He and Donghyuck look at each other.

“Moon witches.”

Doyoung stands, looking at the silver owl gazing calmly back at him.  

“Not just any moon witch. Sooji.”

The owl hoots once again in confirmation before flying off. The pack looks around at each other grimly.

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends it's been approximately 84 years welcome back. Next chapter is The Shitshow so let's geddit. Don't forget to check me out on twitter (I have a Dojae au, it's pretty lit) or send some love to my cc

**Author's Note:**

> My first work! Be gentle, but I welcome criticism!  
> twitter: sunnybearhyuck  
> I post extra details here that don't make it into the story  
> Ask me anything! https://curiouscat.me/things_nct


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